Prosecutor: Area Man Found Guilty of Felony Murder and Related Charges in 2023 Home Invasion

An area man has been convicted of the crimes stemming from a 2023 home invasion and subsequent motor vehicle crash that resulted in a woman’s death and could face life in prison, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Friday.

Altonia D. Williams, 47, of Long Branch, after a four-week trial by jury, was found guilty of 18 charges: first-degree armed robbery, felony murder, aggravated manslaughter while eluding, and vehicular homicide, as well as seven second-degree crimes, two third-degree crimes, and five fourth-degree crimes.

The case background …

Shortly before 4 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, Long Branch police were dispatched to Narragansett Avenue in Long Branch on a report of an armed home invasion involving a man later identified as Williams, brandishing a firearm and demanding money from the home’s residents.

Responding police found Williams in a white BMW leaving the area. Ignoring police orders to stop, he fled from the first-arriving officer, and less than a minute later, crashed into a patrol vehicle that had been responding to the scene.

Williams then fled his vehicle on foot, leaving behind his front-seat passenger, 38-year-old Tracee Blount, of Long Branch. Responding officers managed to extricate her from the heavily damaged and burning vehicle, but she was pronounced dead at a local hospital shortly thereafter.

Williams was later found hiding in a bush nearby, in possession of a loaded handgun. The investigation later revealed that he had been intoxicated on marijuana at the time of the collision.

This case was investigated by the Long Branch Police Department, MCPO Fatal Accident Investigation Unit and Major Crimes Bureau, and the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response Team (SCART). A Monmouth County Grand Jury returned an indictment against Williams in December 2023.

Sentencing in the case has been tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025.

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