2nd Teen OKs Prosecution As Adult In Shooting Near Brick Memorial

BRICK, NJ — An 18-year-old who is accused of shooting a student as he walked home from Brick Memorial High School with friends last October has agreed to be prosecuted as an adult on charges of attempted murder, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.

Alonzo Legrande, 18, of Asbury Park, has been charged with four counts of attempted murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon in connection with the Oct. 22 shooting that led to a lockdown at Brick Memorial High School, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

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.

Brick Township police were called to Brick Memorial High School about 1:45 p.m. after the student ran back to the school with a gunshot wound to the shoulder. He had been walking home with three friends and was about a quarter-mile from school when he was shot, Billhimer said.

The incident prompted police to lock down the high school and Lanes Mill Elementary School just down the road while authorities determined the students were not in immediate danger.

The victim was treated at Ocean Medical Center in Brick Township and released.

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.

He 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.

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

Billhimer praised Chief Juvenile Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Pierro and Assistant Prosecutor Madeline Buczynski.

The following law enforcement agencies were involved in the investigation: the Major Crime and High Tech Crime units of the prosecutor's office; the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Victim Witness Advocacy Unit; the Brick Township Police Department; the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit; the Toms River Township Police Department; the Lakewood Township Police Department; the Bay Head Borough Police Department; the Point Pleasant Beach Police Department; the Asbury Park Police Department; the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit; the Monmouth County Emergency Response Team; the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office; the New Jersey State Police; the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center, and the United States Marshals Service.

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