A 23-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder in the shooting death of another man on Saturday night, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced on Monday.

Gerard Grimes Jr., 23, of Jackson, is facing charges of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Narciso Rodriguez-Corona, 43, of Manalapan. Grimes is also charged with the second-degree crimes of burglary, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a handgun.

At 9:34 pm on Saturday, Oct. 5, the Manalapan Police Department received a call regarding a fight at 25 Fawn Run in Manalapan. Several minutes later, the department received another call for a confirmed shooting victim. Manalapan police responded and discovered Rodriguez-Corona suffering from a gunshot wound. Rodriguez-Corona was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The investigation has revealed that Grimes came to the Manalapan residence armed with a handgun and attempted to enter while some of his friends remained outside. 

Occupants of the home were alerted to Grimes’ presence and attempted to stop him from entering.  After a brief confrontation, Grimes and friends left the home.  Shortly thereafter, a second encounter occurred nearby, where Grimes ultimately shot Rodriguez-Corona and fled the area. 

Police were dispatched to the area where they encountered the victim, who was suffering from life-threatening injuries.  After receiving initial information regarding the incident, police began to search the area where they ultimately located Grimes in the back yard of a nearby residence.

If convicted of Murder, Grimes faces a minimum sentence of 30 years in a New Jersey state prison without parole and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, subject to the provisions of the No Early Release Act (NERA), requiring him to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole. He would also be under parole supervision for five years following his release from state prison.

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office