A Newark resident has been arrested this morning, after having been criminally charged with shooting an Elizabeth man several times and killing him in the City this past August, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel, Elizabeth Police Director Earl Graves and Elizabeth Police Chief Giacomo Sacca jointly announced Tuesday.
Jefferson Louis, 25, is charged with first-degree murder, second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and second-degree possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes in connection with the shooting death of Archeley Brizard, 26, of Elizabeth.
Official said shortly before 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 4, 2021, members of the Elizabeth Police Department responded to the area of Jefferson Park and found Brizard in a car at that location, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
He was subsequently pronounced dead, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Julie Peterman, who is prosecuting the case.
An investigation led by the Union County Homicide Task Force and the Elizabeth Police Department, with the assistance of the Union County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit, and the Union County Police Department Firearms ID Unit, resulted in the identification of Louis as the murder suspect and he was subsequently charged in October of last year.
After a months-long manhunt, members of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force were eventually able to locate Louis at an apartment in Newark and arrested him early this morning.
He is currently being housed in the County Jail pending a first appearance.
“As in every case, we are grateful for the collaboration with our partner law enforcement agencies who assisted our Office in locating and apprehending the suspect,” Prosecutor Daniel said.
“And we hope that this arrest can bring some small measure of comfort to all those grieving Mr. Brizard.”
Anyone with information about this matter is still urged to contact Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force Detective Charles Clement at 908-577-6489 or Elizabeth Police Detective Paul Tillotson at 908-447-6711.
Convictions on crimes of this nature are commonly punishable by terms of up to life in state prison.
These criminal charges are mere accusations. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.