A man was arrested Monday evening after being criminally charged with stabbing a man to death Monday, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel, Elizabeth Police Director Earl J. Graves and Police Chief Giacomo Sacca jointly announced Wednesday.
Javan Johnson, 30, of Bergenfield is charged with first-degree murder, third-degree possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon in connection with the death of Marlon Pantin, 37, of Brooklyn, Ny.
Shortly after 1:00 a.m. on Monday, members of the Elizabeth Police Department responded to the Country Inn & Suites at 100 International Drive and found Pantin -- who had sustained critical injuries as a result of being stabbed -- laying on the lobby floor.
He was transported to University Hospital in Newark and subsequently pronounced dead, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Grady, who is prosecuting the case.
An investigation led by the Union County Homicide Task Force and the Elizabeth Police Department, and with the assistance of the Union County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Unit, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and the Bergenfield Police Department resulted in the identification of Johnson as the murder suspect.
He subsequently surrendered to authorities on Monday evening and was transported to the County Jail pending Court proceedings.
“We are grateful for the collaboration from the local 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. Pantin."
Anyone with information about this matter is still urged to contact Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force Sgt. Lamar Hartsfield at 908-451-1873, Homicide Task Force Sergeant Filipe Alfonso at 908-603-7116 or Elizabeth Police Detective Louis Demondo at 908-558-2100.
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.