New Jersey man charged in college student's murder

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - A New Jersey man charged in February with knocking a man unconscious during a robbery has now been arrested in connection to the murder of a popular Jersey City resident, reports The Jersey Journal.

Nineteen-year-old Kirt Barrington, also from Jersey City, was taken into custody Monday on charges of murder, unlawful possession of a handgun and possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose in the July 3 shooting death of Christopher Lemoine, 19, according to the paper.

The Journal reports a warrant had been issued for Barrington's arrest on July 19.

Details of the case - including a potential motive for the killing - have not been released. Family and friends told the paper Lemoine was a smart young man who was studying criminal justice at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

"Chris wanted to be a cop, which is ironic," friend Harsh Patel told the Journal earlier this month. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and the streets just took him."

On Feb. 2, Barrington was charged with robbery, aggravated assault, hindering apprehension, endangering an injured victim by purposely causing bodily injury and leaving the scene knowing the victim was helpless, according to court documents obtained by the Journal. He was arrested on Feb. 16 and posted bail five days later. The current status of that case was not immediately available.

Barrington's bail in the murder case has been set at $350,000.

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Gene Rubino told the paper the investigation into Lemoine's murder is ongoing and it is unclear if any other people were involved. Anyone with information is asked to call the Prosecutor's Office at 201-915-1345.