Fatal Union County Shooting Ends In Murder Charge: Prosecutor (UPDATE)

RAHWAY, NJ — A Rahway resident was arrested Monday night in Newark after being charged with shooting and killing a man in Rahway on Saturday, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel, Rahway Police Director Jonathan Parham and Chief Law Enforcement Officer Lieutenant Shawn Ganley jointly announced Tuesday.

Brandan Melford, 31, 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 Jack Harris, 44, of Roselle.

The shooting occurred at around 12:39 p.m. on Saturday at the 1400 block of Witherspoon Street, prosecutors said. Upon the arrival of Rahway Police Officers, they found Harris who had been shot and was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene, prosecutors said.

An investigation led by the Union County Homicide Task Force resulted in the identification of Melford as the murder suspect and led to his eventual capture and arrest.

“We are grateful for the collaboration from 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. Harris.”

Anyone with information regarding this incident is still urged to contact Union County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force Detective Patrick Bradley at 908-418-2187 or Rahway Police Department Detective Sidra Colvin at 732-827-2200.

Convictions on crimes of this nature are commonly punishable by terms of up to life in state prison.