LONG BRANCH MAN INDICTED FOR APRIL MURDER ATTEMPT IN RED BANK

(FREEHOLD) A Monmouth County grand jury indicted a Long Branch man this week on charges of attempted murder and weapons offenses in connection with the April shooting of a Red Bank man, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.

A Monmouth County grand jury handed up the 4-count indictment Monday charging Anthony Sims, Jr, 25, of Long Branch but formerly of Red Bank, with one count each of first degree Attempted Murder, first degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, second degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose and second degree Certain Persons Not to Possess Weapons.

Patrol units from the Red Bank Police Department responded to Willow Street on the report of shots fired around 6:51 p.m. on April 9, 2014. Upon arrival, police located the 28-year-old victim in the area of 13 Willow Street with multiple gunshot wounds throughout his body. The victim was medevaced to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune Township, where he received life-saving treatment.

Sims is being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold Township, on $1 million cash only bail, as set by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Honora O’Brien Kilgallen, J.S.C.

A joint investigation by Red Bank police and detectives from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office determined Sims approached the victim armed with a handgun and fired numerous shots into the victim before fleeing the scene. Sims was arrested and charged with Attempted Murder and related charges, as a result of the investigation, on April 14, 2014.

Anyone with information concerning this incident is encouraged to call Detective Robert Campanella, of the Red Bank Police Department, at 732-530-2719 or Detective Brian Weisbrot, of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, at 1-800-533-7443.

Individuals wishing to provide information may also call Monmouth County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-671-4400. Callers to Crime Stoppers remain anonymous and are eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $5,000, for information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of a suspect or fugitive.

If convicted of the first degree crime of Attempted Murder, the maximum potential custodial sentence is a New Jersey state prison term of up to 20 years, subject to the provisions of the “No Early Release Act” (NERA), requiring him to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole. He would also be under parole supervision for five years following his release from state prison.

If convicted of first degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, the maximum potential custodial sentence is a state prison term of up to 20 years.

If convicted of second degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose or second degree Certain Persons Not to Possess Weapons, the maximum potential custodial sentence is a state prison term of 10 years on each count. All three weapons charges are subject to the “Graves Act” and require a mandatory period of parole ineligibility of one half of the custodial sentence imposed, or 42 months, whichever is greater.
Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.

The case is being prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher J. Decker, of the Office’s Major Crimes Bureau. Sims is represented by Carlos Diaz-Cobo, Esq., of New Brunswick.