Three men have been criminally charged for their alleged roles in a shooting incident that took place outside a Linden nightclub a little less than two weeks ago, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo and Linden Police Chief David Hart jointly announced Friday.
Police say Mr. Marcus Brighton, 30, of Piscataway is charged with a first- and a second-degree weapons offense; Derek A. Kines, 40, of Newark is charged with two second-degree weapons offenses; and Jibreel E. Elliott, 28, of Plainfield is charged with third-degree hindering apprehension and fourth-degree obstruction of justice.
Linden Police Department patrol units responded to the Cheeques Gentleman’s Club on the 1200 block of East Linden Avenue at approximately 2:45 a.m. on Saturday, August 3 on a report of a shooting, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Peter DeRose, who is prosecuting the case. Moments later, Brighton was located at a nearby medical center, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds, and subsequently rushed to University Hospital in Newark, where he remains hospitalized.
A Linden Police Department investigation revealed that following a verbal dispute involving the three defendants, Brighton and Kines produced handguns and fired at each other in the nightclub’s parking lot.
Elliott was charged later on the same day of the shooting for allegedly interfering with the investigation. Charges were filed against Brighton several days after the shooting, and Kines turned himself in at Linden Police Department headquarters on Thursday, when he was transferred to Union County Jail pending a first appearance and detention hearing to be scheduled in Superior Court.
Anyone with information about this matter is still being urged to contact Linden Police Department Detective Tim Hubert at 908-474-8500, Ext. 8537.
Convictions on first-degree criminal charges are commonly punishable by 10 to 20 years in state prison, while second-degree offenses can result in 5 to 10 years.
These criminal charges are mere accusations. Each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.