Arrests Made in Fatal Gang Shooting

A Phillipsburg man and his half-brother have been charged with murder in a that claimed the life of a Teaneck man and wounded another man in Bound Brook, Somerset County authorities said Monday.

James K. Ford, 35, of Phillipsburg, and his half-brother, Elijah Ford, 21, of Freemansburg, Pa., were arrested Monday in connection with the March 19 shooting, the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement. 

Teaneck resident Damian Williams, 24, was killed in the shooting and 18-year-old Kendell Harrell of South Bound Brook, was wounded, the prosecutor’s office said.

Harrell was found around 6 p.m. March 19 near the Bound Brook train station bleeding from a gunshot wound to the abdomen, the prosecutor's office said. Williams was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene. 

Williams was a Teaneck High School graduate and second team all-league quarterback on the THS Highwaymen football team in his senior year, according to news reports.  Authorities said at the time they believe the men were involved in a gang-related dispute, possibly between different sects of the Bloods street gang.

“Both defendants are members of the Bloods street gang,” the prosecutor’s office said in the statement Monday. 

In July 2009, Williams was arrested as part of a sweep of alleged gang associates in Teaneck and nearby towns, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.

Authorities have a motive in the shooting, but the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office said they would not release it as the investigation continues.

James Ford was in custody at the Somerset County Jail while Elijah Ford is awaiting extradition from Pennsylvania, the statement said. In addition to first-degree murder, both men face conspiracy, aggravated assault and weapons charges.