Bloomfield Man Arrested for Murder of Ibn Futrell

A 27-year-old Bloomfield man has been arrested for the murder of Ibn Futrell, also of Bloomfield, shot down outside a convenience store on Mission Street in Montclair on Feb. 7, according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray, along with Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio and Montclair Police Chief David Sabagh.

In a statement released late Wednesday, the three said that arrests had been made in connection with recent homicides not only in Montclair but also in Newark.

Murray and Sabagh said that detectives from the Essex County Prosecutor's Major Crimes Task Force and the Montclair Police Department arrested Harold Abnathya, age 27 of Bloomfield, for the murder of Futrell. Futrell, 29, was shot in the back at about 9 p.m. on February 7 on Mission Street in front of the Mini-Mart.  He died at Mountainside Hospital shortly afterwards.

No motive was given for the crime and no further information was available at this time.

On February 10, three days after the shooting, Montclair residents held a community meeting to address concerns with the high crime rate in the 4th ward.  Some residents expressed frustration, saying the township provided inadequate police presence and inadequate street lighting in that area.  Mission Street residents claimed it was so dark that night, police had a hard time even locating the body of the fatally wounded Futrell.

Last month, a reward of up to $5,000 was offered for details leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for Futrell's murder.  It is not clear whether the reward money was paid in connection with the arrests.

The charges against these individuals are merely allegations. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty.