Prosecutor: Alleged Accomplice Indicted on 2017 Home invasion, Stalking Charges

An alleged accomplice in a 2017 Holmdel home invasion has been indicted, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.

Thomas Manzo, 56, of Franklin Lakes, along with James Mainello, 53, of Bayonne, has been indicted for his role as an accomplice on the charges of: first-degree robbery; second-degree burglary; second-degree aggravated assault; third-degree aggravated assault; third-degree theft: third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose; and third-degree criminal restraint. Manzo has also been charged as the sole actor in two counts of fourth-degree stalking related to the same victims.

Manzo turned himself in without incident and will be held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold Township pending his initial appearance in the Monmouth County Superior Court. A detention hearing is expected to be scheduled following his initial appearance to determine if he will be released or detained pending trial. Mainello, who was previously detained and indicted in 2019, is named in the newest superseding indictment on all but the stalking charges.

The case background …

Holmdel police were called at 10:54 p.m. on May 13, 2017, to a townhouse on Banyan Boulevard in the township as a result of a 911 call reporting a home invasion robbery. Police responded and arrived on scene to find two victims who had freed themselves from zip-ties after having been assaulted multiple times with a baseball bat and robbed of the couple’s new engagement ring and $500 in cash.

Initial investigation led to the arrest and charging of assailant James Mainello in May of 2019. The ongoing four-year investigation ultimately uncovered Manzo’s role in stalking both victims and his motivations for the robbery and assault carried out by Mainello and another still unknown assailant.

If convicted of first-degree robbery, the men face up to 20 years in a New Jersey state prison, subject to the provisions of the No Early Release Act (NERA), requiring them to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole. They would also be under parole supervision for five years following release from state prison.

If convicted of second-degree aggravated assault, the men face a sentence of five to 10 years in prison. A third-degree conviction carries a custodial sentence of three to five years in prison, while a conviction of a fourth degree offense carries a sentence of up to 18 months in state prison.

Anyone with additional information about this case is asked to contact Detective Wayne Raynor of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 1-800-533-7443, or Detective Eric Hernando of the Holmdel Police Department at 732-946-4400.