Police have apprehended the city man wanted in connection with the 2015 shooting death of a local 19-year old.
Darryl A. Craft. (Courtesy Essex County Prosecutor's Office) NEWARK -- Police have apprehended a city man wanted in connection with the 2015 shooting death of a local 19-year old, authorities confirm.
Darryl Craft, 24, was taken into police custody on December 31 after he and several others led police on an early morning car chase through Newark's South Ward, according to police reports.
Craft surfaced after the Essex County Prosecutor's Office in December issued a warrant for his arrest on charges connected to the Oct. 24 killing of Darnell Smith.
Smith, whose death brought the city's 2015 homicide total to 81, was found outside a South 6th Street residence suffering an apparent gunshot wound to the chest, according to police reports. More than a dozen bullet casings were discovered at the scene, the reports said.
Smith was later rushed to University Hospital for treatment, and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving, the reports said.
Following his arrest, Craft was arraigned and placed into custody at the Essex County Correctional Facility, where he remains on $1 million bond.
Craft's case has now been referred to a grand jury, said Katherine Carter, Essex County Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman. "We are in the process of preparing the case for presentation," she said.
Vernal Coleman can be reached at vcoleman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @vernalcoleman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
