Accused killer nabbed after photo appears in the Jersey Journal

Monday, September 28, 2009
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE and CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITERS

Elijah Clark, 20 aka "Nut," of Dwight Street, accused of killing Aaron Ballon, 21, aka "Cash," of Bidwell Avenue, during a shoot-out on Dwight Street on Sept. 14, was nabbed at a relative's home on Bergen Avenue near Stegman Street.

"We are gratified that Elijah Clark was captured shortly after his photo appeared in The Jersey Journal," Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said.

Clark's mother, Debra Clark, 51, who was also at the Bergen Avenue residence, was also arrested Saturday morning for failing to pay a $1,200 fine related to a narcotics conviction, Hudson County Sheriff's Office spokesman Robert Knapp said.

Sheriff's officers were conducting a sweep of people owing child support when they received a tip from a "concerned citizen" on Elijah Clark's whereabouts, DeFazio said.

As sheriff's officers approached the apartment Saturday, they met Elijah Clark on his way out of the door. He was arrested after trying to run back into the apartment, Knapp said.

Police say Ballon was shot at least six times while in the shootout with the accused killer Clark. Police recovered more than a dozen spent .45 caliber and 9mm shells at the scene.

An autopsy found that one bullet entered Ballon's forehead and exited the back of his head. Another bullet was recovered from his neck, and he was also shot three times in the back and once in the leg.

Investigators think Ballon fired at least five rounds with a gun police recovered at the scene. Clark was uninjured in the shootout, according to police reports.

DeFazio said that Clark had been "making himself scarce" by staying out of Hudson County for most of the time since the shooting. Investigators believe he was in Elizabeth in Union County for at least some of the time.

Sources close to the investigation said the fatal shooting was likely related to a shooting four hours earlier at Warner Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive, where an 18-year-old Clerk Street man was shot and injured by a man on a bicycle.

Both Clarks are set to appear in Central Judicial Processing Court in Jersey City this afternoon

Arrest warrant issued in shootout slaying in Jersey City

By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
September 25, 2009, 12:55PM

Elijiah Clark of Jersey City is wanted in the shootout murder last week of Aaron Ballon, police said.
Cops are looking for a 20-year-old Jersey City man who has been charged with last week's shootout killing at Dwight Street and Bergen Avenue, police said.

An arrest warrant was issued yesterday for Elijah Clark, who lives on Dwight Street, in the Sept. 14 slaying of 21-year-old Aaron Ballon, who was shot at least six times, including once through the head, officials said.

Ballon was gunned down while he and his killer exchanged fire over a parked car, First Assistant Hudson County Prosecutor Guy Gregory said.

Ballon was pronounced dead that evening.

Ballon rode a bicycle to the area of the shooting where police later recovered more than a dozen spent .45 caliber and 9mm shells, police said.

Investigators think Ballon fired at least five rounds with a gun recovered at the scene, officials said.

Large portions of the shootings were captured by CCTV surveillance cameras and there were several witnesses.

Prosecutors would not say what led them to Clark.

Hey, I wouldnt consider this a murder, it would of been great if they both killed each other. They were 2 drug dealers!!! Scum of the city anyway & since they both didnt die, at least we have 1 less drug dealer in this city!
I could see if there was a innocent bystander involved who got hurt but #OOPS# them both & maybe the next 1 will catch it next time.
Ill be glad when the city is finally cleaned up of the drugs, that day will never come with Healy in office but we can hope for the best.
We all need to report illegal drug activity so that will cut it down a little bit & every little bit counts!!!

Sorry, my mistake. I just looked at the link to another shooting on Lexington..

Quote:

Actually the Dwight St. shooting was in Bergen-Lafayette, but the Warner Ave. (possibly related crime) was in Greenville. What is strange is how the police had no problem commenting on these shootings while they were under investigation unlike the shooting on Wayne St. a few days ago which has all been rather hush-hush while its been under investigation. Isn't that rather odd?

I grew up on Lexington Avenue near West Side. Bergen Ave and Lex is definitely not Greenville, but it's not really Bergen/Lafayette either. We always called it West Bergen. It's more associated with West Side than Lafayette.

I don't know when Bergen and Lafayette became a term, but they are not the same neighborhood. Where this shooting took place has nothing to do with the Lafayette neighborhood down by Communipaw and Pacific.

This story takes place in Greenville, not Bergen-Lafayette.

Typical night on Bergen? Probably light I suspect.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... ed_handgun_found_aft.html

This one would be funny if it wasn't so sad.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... d_arrested_after_cra.html

21-year-old ID'd; cops say he was shot at least six times

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The 21-year-old Jersey City man killed Monday night in gang-related shootout in Greenville was identified by authorities yesterday as Aaron Ballon of Bidwell Avenue.

Ballon, who was shot multiple times, was pronounced dead at 7:52 p.m., said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.

An autopsy report performed yesterday found that one bullet entered Ballon's forehead and exited at the back of his head.

Another bullet was recovered from his neck, and he was also shot three times in the back and once in the leg, DeFazio said.

Ballon was last released from prison less than two months ago.

More than a dozen spent shells were found in the area where Ballon and another gunman exchanged fire on Dwight Street at Bergen Avenue. Investigators think Ballon fired at least five rounds with a gun recovered at the scene.

"I would not characterize anyone as a suspect at this point, but we are actively engaged, along with the Jersey City Police Department and other law enforcement agencies, with obtaining a positive identification," DeFazio said.

"We believe that this does go back to a prior dispute between these individuals and or their close associates," DeFazio said. "We would say that this appears to be gang related."

The prosecutor declined to say which gangs were involved.

Sources close to the investigation said the fatal shooting could be related to a shooting four hours earlier at Warner Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive, where an 18-year-old Clerk Street victim was shot by a man on a bicycle, reports said.

At 4:22 p.m. Monday, the Jersey City Medical Center informed police that the Warner Avenue victim had walked into the emergency room and was being treated for a wound to the back of his shoulder that wasn't considered life-threatening, reports said.

That shooting victim told police he was standing at the corner with friends when he heard shots and began running, but felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, reports said.

Ballon rode a bicycle to the area of the fatal shooting, and he and the other gunman opened fire on each other over the roof of a parked car. Large portions of both shootings were captured by CCTV surveillance cameras and there were several witnesses to both incidents.

Ballon, who turned 21 on Labor Day, was in prison from Aug. 24, 2007 to Feb. 22, 2008 and from Feb. 9, 2009 to July 19, 2009 on three convictions for drug possession with intent to distribute within 1,000 feet of school property, according to state corrections records.

Anyone with information about his murder is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.

So is anyone keeping track of the shootings on/near Bergen Ave this year? I think it's a relatively high number, even for Jersey City.

Let's see, there were 5 people shot at Bergen and Claremont:

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... e_shot_in_jersey_cit.html

Then there were the 5 cops shot, including Marc DiNardo (rest in peace), and two lowlifes (rest in hell) killed at Bergen & Reed.

Now this one at Bergen and Dwight.

I think there was also a murder at JSQ (end of Bergen).

Am I missing any? Anyone got a witty comment on the safety of Bergen Ave?

Jersey City man is shot dead in gun battle

by Ken Thorbourne
The Jersey Journal
Monday September 14, 2009

A 21-year-old Jersey City man was shot dead tonight during a gun battle at Dwight Street and Bergen Avenue, officials have confirmed.

The name of the man was not released pending notification of his family.

The man was shot as he and another man fired at each other at around 8 p.m.

The victim, who was riding a bike, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and a semi-automatic pistol believed to belong to him was recovered at the scene, said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.

A large portion of the gun battle was captured by CCTV surveillance cameras, DeFazio said, although he refused to say definitively if authorities had identified the killer.

"We're hopeful in short order the shooter will be positively identified," DeFazio said.

The motive for the shooting was clearly not robbery, he said.

"We believe that it could be related to a previous dispute," DeFazio said. "It is not a stranger-on-stranger crime."

In addition to the murder being captured on tape, Jersey City police and members of the Prosecutor Office's Homicide Unit were interviewing several witnesses, DeFazio said.

The exact cause of death would be determined by an autopsy to be performed tomorrow, DeFazio said.

DeFazio had no reason tonight to believe this shooting was connected to an earlier one at Martin Luther King Drive and Warner Avenue.