Victor Russ

Two Newark men have been arrested and charged with the March 18, 2009 shooting death of a Roselle business owner, said Union County Prosecutor Theodore J. Romankow. Additionally the men have been linked to a number of robberies in Elizabeth, Millburn and North Arlington.

Jimmie Session DOB: 12/10/1966 and Victor Russ 4/30/1967, are both charged with Felony murder, 1st degree murder, robbery and unlawful possession of a weapon. Union County Superior Court Judge Stuart Peim set bail for each man at $1 million.

Beginning last December, police believe the two men began robbing liquor and convenience stores in the North Jersey area including two locations in Elizabeth, an additional Roselle location and one in North Arlington where a gun was displayed and a shot fired, said Romankow. They also robbed a store in Millburn, but did not fire a weapon.

Around 8:30 p.m. on March 18, the men entered Skylark Discount Liquors in Roselle and during the course of the robbery shot the store’s owner Jitendra Parikh, 64, of North Bergen. Parikh, who was struck twice, was taken to University Hospital in Newark where he was pronounced dead a short time later, said Romankow.

Investigators from the Union County Homicide Task Force received vital help from a number of law enforcement agencies, including the Roselle Police Department, the Millburn Police Department, North Arlington Police Department, the Elizabeth Police Department, the New Jersey State Parole Board and the Essex and Bergen County Prosecutor’s Offices. Romankow cited Roselle Police Sgt. Tom Nugent and Det. Brian Fech of the Homicide Task Force for their thoroughness in the investigation.