Asbury Park Home Invasion Case Resolves on the Eve of Trial
The day before the defendant was scheduled for trial on armed robbery and other charges, he accepted the State's plea offer and plead guilty. The defendant plead guilty to first-degree armed robbery, a weapons offense, and simple assault in connection with a home invasion in Asbury Park in January 2008. The defendant admitted, during the allocution before Judge Ira Kreizman at the Monmouth County Superior Court in Freehold, that the robbery was "a drug deal gone bad". The defendant admitted that he entered the home looking for drugs and took crack cocaine from the premises.
The defendant was facing a seven count indictment with up to 55 years behind bars if convicted at trial. As part of the plea agreement with the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, the defendant's first-degree armed robbery charge will be treated as a second-degee charge for sentencing purposes and the State will recommend the maximum (10 years) on that second-degree charge. This 10-year sentence is subject to the "No Early Release Act" in New Jersey, which means that the defendant must serve 85% of his 10-year sentence before he is eligible for parole.
For additional information, see the Asbury Park Press article entitled "Last of 3 defendants in Asbury Park home invasion pleads guilty".
