Arrests Made in Murder of Respected Store Owner

Two teenage boys were arrested in connection with the murder of Joseph Flagg, who was gunned down in his Chancellor Avenue deli Sunday during what is believed to be an attempted robbery, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday.

Flagg, a 41-year-old Union resident, was found inside his store on the 200 block of Chancellor Avenue. Flagg was known to have assisted those previously convicted of crimes as well as neighborhood youth. According to Samuel DeMaio, the director of the Newark Police Department, Flagg also assisted one of the youths now charged with his murder.

“It is especially gratifying for me as police director to see such quick closure in this case. The victim was a man who opened his doors to the community in efforts to help the youth in the area. It's especially sad to see that one of the local youths he reached out to in a positive way is the person that took his life so senselessly.”  

Investigators from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and Newark police conducted an investigation which led to the arrests of the two 17-year-old city residents Friday, ECPO spokesman Thomas Fennelly said.

They have been charged with felony murder, robbery, conspiracy, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. One of the youths was also charged with knowing and purposeful murder.