Prosecutor: Monmouth Man Gets 16 Years for Shooting Death

A Monmouth County man was sentenced Monday to 16 years in a New Jersey state prison for a December 2015 shooting death, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.

Diquan Speights, 23, of Asbury Park, was sentenced by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley after pleading guilty in February to killing Jamal Small and shooting Tyreek Small, both also of Asbury. The two victims were found on Summerfield Avenue after Asbury Park police officers responded to reports of a shooting at 11:56 a.m. on Dec. 20, 2015.

As part of his sentence, Speights will be required to serve 85 percent of his prison term before he is eligible for parole pursuant to the No Early Release Act for the shooting death of Jamal Small. Speights was also sentenced to 10 years in state prison for the aggravated assault of Tyreek Small and 18 months in prison for the aggravated assault of Tieshe Small. Judge Oxley ordered the sentences to run concurrently. Speights is required to serve a period of five years parole supervision upon his release from prison.

The case background … 

A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and Asbury Park Police Department established that Speights was responsible for the shooting and subsequent death of Jamal Small.

During his plea in February, Speights admitted firing five shots into the car where both Jamal and Tyreek Small were seated. The investigation further revealed just minutes before the shooting Speights pointed and threatened Tieshe Small with a handgun, the same gun used to later kill Jamal Small.

Asbury Park police officers arrived on scene in front of 1039 Summerfield Avenue to find both Small victims suffering from gunshot wounds. Jamal was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune Township, where he later died as a result of the gunshot wounds.

The case was prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Maria Franceschini and Martha Nye. Speights is represented by Carlos Diaz-Cobo, Esq., of New Brunswick.

— Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office press release