18-Year-Old Pleads Guilty In Shooting Near Brick Memorial

BRICK, NJ — An Asbury Park teen has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in a shooting that injured a Brick Memorial High School student as he walked home from school last October, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday.

Alonzo Legrande, 18, of Asbury Park, pled guilty Thursday to aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in the Oct. 22, 2019 shooting, Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said.

The shooting led to a lockdown at Brick Memorial High School and Lanes Mill Elementary School after the injured student, who was walking home with three friends, ran back to the high school bleeding from a gunshot wound to the shoulder; he was treated at a hospital and recovered.

Legrande, who agreed Sept. 10 to be prosecuted as an adult, had faced four charges of attempted murder in the case. Billhimer said the state will recommend a 10-year prison sentence to Superior Court Wendel Daniels at Legrande's sentencing, scheduled for Nov. 20.

Legrande and Luis Rivas, who was 16 at the time and has also agreed to be prosecuted as an adult, were identified from video surveillance from nearby homes as the two who worked together in the shooting, which happened after school let out.

The investigation and review of the videos identified Legrande and Rivas as "acting together and in support of one another in carrying out the shooting," the prosecutor's office said. Authorities later determined Legrande fired the gun.

Legrande, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, was arrested Oct. 23 and has been held at the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center since then.

Rivas has already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, Billhimer said. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 2 and the state will be seeking a five-year prison term, Billhimer said.

"Our law enforcement partners at the local, county, state, and federal levels, displayed a tremendous amount of teamwork and collaboration to swiftly investigate this crime and bring these individuals into custody," Billhimer said. "Without this level of cooperation, this horrendous crime would not have been solved, nor would Rivas' and Legrande's guilty pleas have been made possible."

"The level of coordination and collaboration exhibited by all the officers participating in this investigation was truly outstanding, and I am grateful for their collective assistance which has resulted in two very dangerous individuals being removed from our streets," he said.

The shooting and the outcry it created in the community prompted the creation of the Brick Township Police Department's Street Crimes Unit, which has focused on quality-of-live crimes, drug investigations and other criminal investigations in the months since. Dozens of arrests have been made by the unit.

Read more about the incident:

• 1 Hurt In Drive-By Shooting In Brick: Police
• Shots Near Brick Memorial High School Prompt Police Response
• Brick's Search Continues For Shooter As Students Return To School
• Brick Shooting: See Mayor Call Suspect 'Scum' After 'Scary Day'
• Drive-By, Shooting Near School Linked, Brick Police Confirm
• 17-Year-Old Charged In Shooting Near Brick Memorial
• 2nd Teen Arrested In Shooting Near Brick Memorial

Chief Juvenile Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Pierro and Assistant Prosecutor Madeline Buczynski handled the case on behalf of the state. The following law enforcement agencies were involved in securing the plea: Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, High Tech Crime Unit and Victim Witness Advocacy Unit; Brick Township Police Department; Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit; Toms River Township Police Department; Lakewood Township Police Department; Bay Head Borough Police Department; Point Pleasant Beach Police Department; Asbury Park Police Department; Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit; Monmouth County Emergency Response Team; Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office; New Jersey State Police; New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center; and the United States Marshals Service.

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