Prosecutor: NY Man Convicted of Aggravated Assault, Weapons Charged in 2003 Shooting

A man from Brooklyn, NY man has been convicted of aggravated assault and weapons offenses in connection with a 2023 shooting that left a local man and woman injured, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced last Friday.

Damian Bell, 51, will face a term of up to 60 years in state prison when he is sentenced on Thursday, October 16, 2025.

The approximately two-week trial before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley resulted in guilty verdicts on two counts of second-degree aggravated assault along with single counts of three related weapons offenses, including one first-degree and two second-degree charges.

The case background …

On Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, at approximately 7:14 a.m., members of the Freehold Borough Police Department responded to a home on Center Street for the report of a shooting incident. Upon arrival, officers discovered two victims, a male and a female, both suffering from gunshot wounds. The victims were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

An investigation by the MCPO Major Crimes Bureau and Freehold Borough Police Department, led by MCPO Detective Thomas Manzo and Freehold Borough Police Lieutenant John Reiff, revealed that Bell had gotten into a verbal argument that ultimately turned physical with the male victim.

Bell then retrieved a handgun from upstairs, returned back downstairs, and shot both victims, including the female victim as she attempted to run away while carrying her young child. Bell then fled the scene prior to police arrival.

Bell was later located and arrested in Rowan County, NC, in March of 2024.

The case is being handled by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Luciano of the Major Crimes Bureau.

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