A Long Branch man was sentenced to 40 years in prison on murder and attempted murder convictions stemming from a 2018 shooting in a Long Branch restaurant, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.

On Oct. 16, Miguel Camara, 42, was sentenced to 40 years in New Jersey state prison with 38 ½ years of parole ineligibility. Camara previously pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the murder of Marco Moreira, attempted murder of Fernanda Silva, and endangering the welfare of Silva’s 5-year-old child.

Camara entered his guilty plea on July 15.

The case background …

On Aug. 21, 2018 at 3:15 p.m., Long Branch Police Officer George Samol was flagged down by a motorist on Broadway who reported a fight inside the Bom DMais restaurant and a shot fired through the front window. 

Officer Samol responded to the restaurant where he observed two males and one female wrestling with Camara who was holding a gun. Samol unholstered his duty weapon and ordered Camara to drop the weapon. 

As the 18-year-old son of Fernanda Silva was able to gain control over Camara’s gun, Camara immediately turned to Officer Samol and grabbed his weapon, trying to take possession of it. Samol was able to wrestle the gun from Camara as additional officers arrived on scene. After Camara was placed under arrest, officers observed the victim, Marco Moreira, lying dead on the floor of the business. He was pronounced dead at 3:38 p.m.

A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Long Branch Police Department determined that Camara entered the Bom DMais restaurant and approached the table where his ex-girlfriend Fernanda Silva, her two children ages 18 and 5, and Marco Moreira were seated. 

Camara threw a final restraining order, obtained by Silva less than a month before, on the table, pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Marco Moreira’s head several times before shooting him. A struggle then ensued between Silva, her 18-year-old son and Camara for the gun.  During the struggle Camara repeatedly pointed the gun at Silva, firing it twice but missing her. Silva’s five-year-old daughter was a few feet away during the struggle.

The sentence requires that defendant will serve 30 years New Jersey state prison sentence with a 30-year period of parole ineligibility on the murder, a 10-year prison sentence on the attempted murder charge, subject to the provisions of the No Early Release Act, which requires that the defendant serve 85 percent of the sentence before he is eligible for parole and five years in prison for the endangering the welfare of a child. 

The attempted murder sentence will run consecutively with the murder sentence, and the endangering sentence will run concurrently. The resulting total sentence: an aggregate 40 years prison with 38 ½ years of parole ineligibility. 

Camara will also be under parole supervision for five years following his release from state prison and will face deportation back to his home country of Portugal.

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

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