Suspect Arrested and Charged With Attempted Murder in Lakewood and Jackson Crimes Spree

Lakewood (Hamodia Staff) – Ocean County Prosecutor and Lakewood Township Police announced the arrest of Dion Marsh on April 8, and charged him with three counts of attempted murder and other charges in connection with a crime spree on Friday, April 7.

At approximately 1:00 p.m. on Friday, a carjacking occurred at Martin Luther King Drive and Pine Street, where a perpetrator allegedly assaulted the driver of a 2016 Camry and fled in the vehicle.

At 6:00 p.m., a pedestrian was struck by a dark colored vehicle at Central Avenue and Carlton Avenue. The victim was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center where he is listed in Stable condition.

At 6:55 p.m., Lakewood Police responded to a stabbing at Pine Circle Drive and Lakewood New Egypt Road. The victim, who was stabbed in the chest, was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center and is listed in critical but stable condition.

At 8:20 p.m., Lakewood Police responded to Galassi Court, where a pedestrian was struck by a car matching the description of the car that was carjacked earlier in the day. The victim was was taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center and is listed in critical but stable condition.

Investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor Major Crime Unit and Manchester Township Police Department arrested Marsh at his home in Manchester on Friday night.

Prosecutor Bradley B. Dilhimer of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said that it appears that the suspect was acting on his own.

Agudath Israel of America wrote that they are “shocked and horrified by the brutal attacks on Orthodox Jewish victims in Lakewood and Jackson, New Jersey, over the weekend. We commend the swift and bold response by law enforcement and are particularly grateful to the Lakewood Police Department and those of the surrounding municipalities, the Ocean County Prosecutor, the New Jersey Attorney General’s office, Governor Murphy, and the FBI who have all committed the necessary resources to investigate these alleged hate crimes and secure our community.

Governor Phil Murphy released a statement in which he said, “I applaud the efforts of law enforcement in Lakewood and Ocean County for swiftly apprehending the individual believed to have committed a series of serious criminal acts last night, including multiple violent offenses. Tammy and I pray for the full recovery of all victims.”

In a letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Sunday, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) asked the director of the FBI to investigate whether antisemitism was a factor motivating the grievous crime spree.

“I respectfully as the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI to determine whether any federal laws were broken, including hate crimes acts as found in 18 U.S> Code § 249.

As co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force Combatting Antisemitism, I am deeply concerned that the pernicious hate — often resulting in violence — is escalating.

“Silence is not an option.”

In a statement by the Anti-Defamation League reported by Asbury Park Press, New York/New Jersey Regional Director Scott Richman, said, “We are grateful to federal and local law enforcement for their swift response in apprehending the suspect and bringing charges that include bias intimidation.

“More needs to be done proactively to prevent violence against the Jewish community, and in particular visibly identifiable Jews in Ocean County and across our region. Jews should not be afraid to freely go about their business without living in fear that they will be targeted for violence. The past few years have seen far too many assaults against Jews.”

Please be mispallel for a refuah shleimah for Moshe Yigal ben Brunia and Tzvi Aryeh ben Rivka Leah, besoch she’ar cholei Yisrael.