ShopRite Parking Lot Stabbing In Brick Nets Prison Sentence

BRICK, NJ — A Seaside Heights man has been sentenced to seven years in prison in a 2021 stabbing at the ShopRite parking lot in Brick, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced.

Michael A. Stallworth, 35, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Kimarie Rahill on Tuesday to seven years in state prison subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act (NERA), meaning he must serve 85 percent of his sentence — five years, 11 months — before he can be considered for parole eligibility, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Stallworth had pleaded guilty to aggravated assault on Jan. 9, 2023, in connection with the stabbing that happened July 26, 2021.

Brick Township police were called to the ShopRite parking lot about 4 p.m. on July 26, 2021, and found a 44-year-old man who had been stabbed in the back, authorities said. The man was initially hospitalized in critical condition at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, but later was released from the hospital.

According to the probable cause affidavit, the victim knew Stallworth, who stabbed him after saying hello to the victim inside ShopRite a short time earlier. The victim identified Stallworth as his attacker.

The information from the victim was corroborated by investigators, through interviews with witnesses and security footage from the ShopRite, the affidavit said.

A warrant for Stallworth's arrest was issued July 26, 2021. He turned himself in on Aug. 29, 2021 and initially was held at the Ocean County Jail.

The prosecutor's office said Stallworth currently is being held in the Essex County Correctional Facility, serving a sentence on a federal violation of probation.