Taquan Harris, 22, charged with murder.
Taquan Harris, 22, charged with murder.
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NEWARK — A suspect has been arrested and another remains at large in the shooting death of an NJIT student from Freehold.

Nafee Cotman, 18, of Irvington, was arrested in connection with the shooting death of Joe Micalizzi, 23, of Freehold, at the TKE fraternity house early Monday morning.

Another suspect, Taquan Harris, 22, of Newark, remains at large.

Both are charged with murder, felony, robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes.

Cotman was being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Micalizzi was a promising young man "poised to make a great contribution to the state of New Jersey," Essex County Acting Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said.

Nafee Cotman, charged and arrested in Joe Micalizzi slaying. (Courtesy Essex County Prosecutor's Office)
Nafee Cotman, charged and arrested in Joe Micalizzi slaying. (Courtesy Essex County Prosecutor's Office)
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Murray said both suspects entered the frat house on Martin Luther King Boulevard armed with guns.

Micalizzi was a junior mechanical engineering major at NJIT and made the honor roll in the Fall semester. He was a student at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft before transferring to NJIT and a 2011 graduate of Howell High School.

A combined $20,000 is reward from NJIT and Essex County Crime Stoppers has been posted for information.

Micalizzi's funeral is scheduled for Wednesday at St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church in Freehold at 10 a.m. Viewings are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday from 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. each day at the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home in Freehold. Memorial contributions in Micalizzi’s memory may be made to St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor's Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force tips line at 1-877-847-7432.

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