Authorities charged a 33-year-old Totowa man with the overnight stabbing death of another man outside the borough QuickChek.
An on-duty Totowa police officer saw Damien Edwards stab 35-year-old Justin Parker outside the Union Boulevard store entrance around 3:30 a.m., Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes and Totowa Police Chief Robert Coyle said in a joint announcement.
Edwards was ordered held in the Passaic County Jail on murder and weapons counts pending a detention hearing Monday in Central Judicial Processing Court in Paterson, they said.
“The officer immediately called in the assault in progress and attempted to take Edwards into custody,” the statement says. “Edwards fled the scene but was apprehended a short distance away by assisting patrol units.”
Parker suffered apparent stab wounds in his torso and was pronounced dead at the scene at 4 a.m.., they said.
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