Arrest made in fatal fight outside club
Brooklyn man with ties to "FSU" gang is charged
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 02/11/07
BY ALEX BIESE
AND ZACH PATBERG
STAFF WRITERS
A 34-year-old Brooklyn man associated with the FSU gang was arrested
in Asbury Park on Friday night in connection with the death of a man
outside Club Deep following an argument over a T-shirt, authorities
said.
Alexander J. Franklin, of 74th Street in Brooklyn, was charged with
manslaughter in the Jan. 14 death of James Morrison, 25, which
occurred outside the club on Second Avenue, according to a news
release from Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin.
Superior Court Judge James J. McGann on Saturday set Franklin's bail
at $300,000.
"I'm just glad the person that did this is off the street,"
said the victim's mother, Lorrie Morrison. "Now we'll have to wait
for a court to decide what will happen to him."
The arrest follows a nearly monthlong investigation into Morrison's
death. When asked Saturday if any more arrests were expected, First
Assistant Prosecutor Peter Warshaw said all he could say is "the
investigation remains active."
According to the news release, at approximately 5:50 p.m. Jan. 14,
officers from the Asbury Park Police Department responded to the club
after a 911 call about a fight. Upon arrival, Officer Cynthia Yost
found Morrison lying on the ground in front of the club unconscious,
unresponsive and bleeding from the back of his head.
Morrison was pronounced dead less than an hour later. An autopsy
revealed that he died as a result of blunt force trauma to the back
of his head. The Asbury Park Police Department and the Monmouth
County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit launched an
investigation.
Authorities found that Morrison and his friends were inside the club
when they became involved in an altercation with a number of people
relating to a T-shirt worn by one of Morrison's friends, the
Prosecutor's Office said. Morrison was then asked by security to
leave the club and was escorted out.
Morrison's friends began walking to the parking lot when, according
to the prosecutor, Franklin approached Morrison and punched him on
the right side of his face. Morrison fell backward and struck his
head on the sidewalk. Franklin immediately fled the scene.
The joint investigation eventually led to the arrest of Franklin, who
is associated with the gang "FSU," Warshaw said.
The initials stand for Friends Stand United, or two profanities
followed by the word "up." Members of the gang once were responsible
for driving out neo-Nazi elements in the Boston hard-core punk scene
of the mid-1980s. FSU is now a bizarre gang of young men who assault
individuals at hard-core shows in dozens of cities across the
country. Many of the bands that were slated to play Jan. 14 at the
club are affiliated with FSU, or are known to attract gang members to
their shows, according to sources with the New Jersey State Police
Organized Crime Control Bureau.
Those who attended the show with Morrison say the brawl that led to
his death was touched off by someone in the club taking offense to a
Lynyrd Skynyrd shirt featuring a Confederate flag that was worn by
one of Morrison's friends.
The arrest brought some level of relief to Morrison's family.
Lorrie Morrison said the authorities told her a week ago that they
were planning to arrest a suspect. She said police found an FSU key
chain on Franklin, despite his denying involvement in the gang.
Both she and the victim's grandparents expressed appreciation to the
police and news media for the speedy arrest and for keeping the case
in the public eye.
"Nothing is going to bring him back," said Carol Zemartis, James
Morrison's grandmother. "But I'm so glad they got somebody, and it is
gang-related, no matter what anyone says."
In the news release, Prosecutor Valentin said, "By following every
lead and interviewing many individuals who possibly knew relevant
information, police were able to arrest the man whose gratuitous
violent act recklessly caused the death of Mr. Morrison."
If convicted of manslaughter, Franklin would face a maximum sentence
of 10 years in prison. He would have to serve 8 1/2 years before
being eligible for parole, under New Jersey's No Early Release Act.
Larry Fishman, chief operating officer of Asbury Partners, had said
that Club Deep is not owned by Asbury Partners but by AP Venture
Holdings.
Fishman had said he could not state the relationship between the two
companies but would check with his comptroller.
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This story contains information from previous Asbury Park Press
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