Prosecutor: Man Killed in Fight with Brother-in-Law

Lance Johnson, a 44-year-old city man, has been charged with manslaughter after getting into a fight with his brother-in-law yesterday afternoon, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement Saturday.

Police responded to 29 N. 12th St. around 5:30 pm after getting a call for medical assistance and found Freddy Backlon, 43, unresponsive. Backlon was rushed to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.

A precise cause of death has not yet been determined, a spokesman said.

An investigation by the Essex County Major Crimes Task Force, which includes Newark police detectives, revealed that the men had gotten into a dispute that turned violent, authorities said. Johnson had been detained at the scene Friday and was formally charged that night.

Bail for Johnson has been set at $200,000 and he has been remanded to Essex County Correctional Facility, according to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas S. Fennelly, of the Prosecutor's Homicide Unit.