James Fred Garner was 37 when he was fatally shot on June 25, 2015. The shooting occurred in a second-floor apartment on the 300 block of East Price Street in Linden, New Jersey; officers responding to reports of gunfire found Garner with gunshot wounds, and he died after being taken to a local hospital.

Investigators described the incident as a robbery gone wrong and identified two men in connection with the killing. Warrants were issued for 22-year-old James Gilford of Elizabeth (also known as Baby James) and 37-year-old Aziz Howard of Carteret. Howard was arrested at his home soon after the warrants were issued; Gilford evaded capture for a time before being taken into custody.

Both Gilford and Howard were charged in the case and later pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, acknowledging their roles in events that led to Garner’s death. Does anyone have information about Garner’s life in Linden or memories of the neighborhood on that night?