NJ man who fatally stabbed jail inmate sentenced in fatal shooting

LINDEN — Having pleaded guilty over the summer to a fatal shooting in this Union County city nearly two years ago, a New Jersey man was sentenced last week to 22 years in prison.

But Wednesday's release from the Union County Prosecutor's Office on the sentencing of Ashton Barthelus, 27, made no mention of additional charges filed against the man while he was being held at the Essex County Correctional Facility, for the stabbing death of a fellow inmate.

At the time of the December 2021 killing of Dan Milford Gelin, 27, of Elizabeth, Barthelus was reported as a Carteret resident, but the information released Wednesday identified Linden as his home city.

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On the afternoon of Oct. 26, 2020, Union County prosecutors said, police responded to East St. Georges Avenue in Linden and found city resident Andy Rozelien, 29, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Rozelien was subsequently pronounced dead at Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth.

Barthelus pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in exchange for the 22-year sentence in Rozelien's killing, and prosecutors said he must serve 85% of that term before becoming eligible for parole.

There has been no further update made public on the December 2021 jail death in Essex County.

Patrick Lavery is a reporter and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at patrick.lavery@townsquaremedia.com

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