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>A Monmouth County grand jury on Wednesday refused to indict a Brooklyn man on
manslaughter charges that had been lodged against him for the death of a Bass River man last year, the prosecutor's office said.

Alexander J. Franklin, 34, a tattoo artist with reputed gang affiliations, had been accused in the beating death of James Morrison, 25, on Jan. 14, 2007.

Morrison died of blunt force trauma after an altercation at Club Deep, an Asbury Park nightclub, where he was allegedly punched in the head and later died of his injuries.

"A very thorough investigation was conducted at the time this crime occurred," Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Peter E. Warshaw said. "That information was presented to the grand jury in a thorough and comprehensive manner and the grand jury declined to return any indictments."

The grand jury's vote means the police charges against Franklin are now dismissed, prosecutors said.

Warshaw said he could not comment further on the matter because of court rules that require grand jury proceedings to be kept secret.