Crime, Regional Interest

Prosecutor: Two Get More Than 60 Years for 2019 Shooting

Two men have been sentenced to more than 60 years in state prison in connection with the 2019 Neptune midday shooting of two men inside their vehicle, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey.

Gary Brooks Jr., 30, and Jonathan Marvine, 28, both of Neptune Township, were sentenced on Monday, June 20, after being convicted by jury trial in October of 2021.

Facts developed at the trial revealed that on Friday, Aug. 2, 2019 at 11:05 a.m., Asbury Park and Neptune Township police responded to multiple 911 calls reporting shots fired in the area of Monroe Avenue at the intersection of Ridge Avenue in Asbury Park.

The investigation revealed that the victims, a 28-year-old Neptune Township man and an 18-year-old Asbury Park man, were stopped at the intersection when a vehicle driven by Brooks, with Marvine as the front-seat passenger, pulled next to the victims’ vehicle.

Brooks then used an illegally possessed handgun to fire repeatedly into the vehicle, shooting both victims. Brooks and Marvine had circled the block in their car and returned to the area after seeing the pair stopped at the intersection minutes earlier.

After six days of testimony, the jury found Brooks guilty of two counts of first-degree attempted murder, as well as one count each of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree certain persons not to possess weapons, second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. The jury found Marvine guilty of one count of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder.

Brooks was sentenced to a total of 50 years in a New Jersey state prison, while Marvine was sentenced to 11 years. Brooks and Marvine must both serve 85 percent of their sentences pursuant to the provisions of New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, requiring Brooks to serve 37 years and 6 months prior to being eligible for parole, and Marvine 9 years and 4 months before he is eligible for parole.