29-Year-Old Manchester Man Sentenced To Prison For The 2022 Attack On The Jewish Community In Ocean County
Sunday, July 28, 2024, 10:00 A.M. ET. 5 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
LAKEWOOD, NJ.- Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer reported on Friday, July 26, 2024, that Dion Marsh, 29, of Manchester Township, New Jersey, appeared in Ocean County Superior Court and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan, to 30 years in New Jersey State Prison, without the possibility of parole.
The sentence was pursuant to a previously entered guilty plea for terrorism in connection with the April 8, 2022, seven-hour violent attack spree on Lakewood Township and Jackson Township residents.
The attacks began on April 8, 2022, when shortly after 1:00 p.m., a male victim operating a 2011 Toyota Camry was traveling northbound on Arlington Avenue in Lakewood, was approached by a man on foot who attempted to open the Camry’s door. The victim quickly accelerated and began to pull away. The man reached through the open window and attempted to hold on to the car, which traveled about one city block before the man let go.
Within about five minutes, at around 1:15 p.m., members of the Lakewood Township Police Department responded to the area of Martin Luther King Drive and Pine Street in the Township after receiving a report of a carjacking. Upon arrival, Police Officers learned that a male suspect approached a 2016 Toyota Camry, assaulted the driver, pulled them from the Camry, and then fled the scene in the car.
On the same day, at around 5:20 p.m., a male pedestrian was crossing Kimball Road at Central Avenue in Lakewood Township when a dark-colored sedan struck him from the right side, causing the man to sustain minor injuries. The sedan then fled the scene.
Five minutes later, at 5:25 p.m., the Lakewood Township Police Department received a 911 Emergency Call from a father reporting that his minor child had been approached by a black sedan occupied by a thin black male. The father reported that the suspect attempted to physically grab the minor child and pull him into the vehicle but was unsuccessful.
At just around 6:00 p.m., the Lakewood Township Police Department received a 911 Emergency Call reporting a pedestrian had been struck by a dark-colored vehicle in the area of Central and Carlton Avenues in the Township. The man was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, New Jersey, where he was treated and released.
Just under an hour later, at 6:55 p.m., members of the Lakewood Police Department responded to a 911 Emergency Call reporting a stabbing in the area of Pine Circle Drive and Lakewood New Eygpt Road in the Township. Upon arrival, Police Officers found a male victim suffering a stab wound to his chest. The man was transported to Jersey Shore Univesity Medical Center, where he was treated and later released.
On April 8, 2022, shortly before 8:30 p.m., members of the Jackson Township Police Department responded to a 911 Emergency Call reporting a male pedestrian being struck by a motor vehicle on Galassi Court. Upon arrival, Police Officers were able to determine that the man had been struck by the same vehicle that was taken in the earlier Lakewood carjacking. The man was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he was treated and transferred to a rehabilitation facility and released following rehabilitative treatment.
A swift-moving and extensive investigation by Ocean County Authorities was able to identify Marsh as the individual responsible for all the violent attacks that occurred on April 8, 2022, over seven hours.
Hours after identifying Marsh, Detectives of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and the Manchester Township Police Department arrested Marsh at his residence in Manchester Township and formally charged him with multiple criminal offenses, including Attempted Murder; Carjacking; Attempted Carjacking; Attempted Kidnapping; Weapons Offenses; and Bias Intimidation. Marsh was processed on the charges and was remanded to the Ocean County Jail, where he has remained.
Additionally, based on the circumstances surrounding the series of attacks, Ocean County Prosecutor Billhimer requested and received approval from New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin to charge Marsh with Terrorism. Accordingly, on April 14, 2022, Marsh was additionally charged with Terrorism.
Five days later, on April 19, 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigations charged Marsh with four counts of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, as well as a single count of Federal Carjacking in connection with the April 8, 2022, violent attacks in Lakewood Township and Jackson Township.
On February 1, 2024, Marsh pleaded guilty to all five counts in the United States District Court of New Jersey. On July 23, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Zahid N. Quraishi sentenced Marsh to 40 years in Federal Prison. Marsh’s Federal sentence will run concurrently with his 30-year New Jersey State Prison Sentence.
“I am hopeful that this lengthy prison sentence will serve as a deterrent to anyone with even the slightest inclination to act on their misguided feelings of bias and hate,” Prosecutor Billhimer stated.
“It is clear that Marsh’s virulent rampage was intended to terrorize the Jewish community. This prison sentence sends a clear message to those who would seek to terrorize innocent citizens in Ocean County: we will pursue you, prosecute you, and ultimately convict you. We will do everything within our power to send you to prison for a very long time. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, hate has no place in Ocean County,” Prosecutor Billhimer added.
“I’m thankful to all of the law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation, whose combined efforts and teamwork led to Marsh’s swift apprehension and lengthy prison sentence,” Prosecutor Billhimer concluded.
