The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Update 3: Isaiah “Ike” J. Bell was arrested the morning of Sept. 14 in a Staten Island, NY apartment, according to a press release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.
Somerset County detectives, along with detectives from New York City’s 120th Precinct and detectives from the Staten Island Warrant Squad, arrested Bell without incident at about 9:45 a.m.
Bell was being pursued by detectives from the township, the county prosecutor’s Major Crimes Unit and FBI agents located Bell since he allegedly killed James M. Kargbo on Labor Day.
Bell will now go through the extradition process before his return to New Jersey, according to the release.
Update 2: The Crime Stoppers reward for information leading to the arrest of Bell has been increased to up to $2,000, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.
Update: Somerset County Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of Bell, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.
Bell, 21, is described as being 6’1”, 160 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. His last known address was on Brooks Boulevard in Manville.
Original Story: Police are looking for a man they say killed a township resident on Labor Day.
Isaiah J. “Ike” Bell has been charged with 1st Degree Murder in the death of 24-year-old James M. Kargbo, according to a release from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities said Bell struck Kargbo during an altercation between the two near Coventry Lane and Westminster Road shortly after 11 a.m.
After the incident, Kargbo entered his car, in which his 6-year-old son was a passenger, and attempted to drive away on Route 27 before crashing through a fence and into a medical building. Kargbo’s son was not injured in the crash, police said.
Police responding to the scene found Kargbo bleeding profusely and administered lifesaving measures, aided by Emergency Medical Personnel from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital – New Brunswick, according to the release. Kargbo was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital – New Brunswick, where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities said that after the altercation, Bell fled the area in a 4-door sedan, which has been recovered.
An autopsy was performed on Kargbo on Sept. 6 by the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner in Newark, which revealed that Kargbo died from “sharp force injury” to his chest, according to the release.
Franklin Township Patrol Officers along with detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Crime Scene Investigations and Forensics Unit, the Franklin Township Police Detective Bureau, and the North Brunswick Detective Bureau responded to the intersection of Coventry Lane and Westminster Road to conduct the investigation.
Police are asking anyone with information regarding this incident or Bell’s whereabouts to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at (908) 231-7100, the Franklin Township Police Department (732) 873-2300.
Those individuals with information requesting to remain anonymous should call the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477) or go online at www.888577tips.org or www.scpo.net and click on either “Crime Stoppers” or “TIPS HOTLINE”. All anonymous Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.
