On Tuesday, October 22, 2019, at approximately 1:45 p.m., Brick Township Police were summoned to Brick Memorial High School for a report of a student who had sustained a gunshot wound. Investigation revealed that the student was walking home from school with three friends when he was shot approximately one-quarter mile away from Brick Memorial; he then ran back to the school for help. As a precaution, Brick Township Police and school officials locked down the high school as well as neighboring schools before determining there was no immediate danger to students. The victim was treated at Ocean Medical Center in Brick Township and released.

As part of their investigation, Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Brick Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office reviewed video surveillance footage from nearby residences. The video surveillance depicted Legrande, who was 17 years-old at the time, and Luis Rivas, who was also a juvenile, acting together and in support of one another in carrying out the shooting. Further investigation revealed that Legrande was, in fact, the individual who fired the weapon. He was apprehended on October 23, 2019, and has been lodged in the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center since his apprehension. Rivas, who likewise agreed to be prosecuted as an adult, previously pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Assault in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2a(1) and N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(1), and is presently scheduled to be sentenced on October 2, 2020. The State will be seeking a term of five years NJSP subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2, against Rivas.

Today it was announced by Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer that Alonzo Legrande, 18, of Asbury Park, pled guilty to Aggravated Assault in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(1) and Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4a, before the Honorable Wendel E. Daniels, P.J.Cr.P. Legrande’s guilty plea was contemplated in connection with his voluntary waiver of the Family Court’s jurisdiction on September 10, 2020, and his further agreement to be charged and prosecuted as an adult in Criminal Court. At the time of his sentencing on November 20, 2020, the State will recommend that Legrande be sentenced to a term of ten years New Jersey State Prison (NJSP) subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2.