2 Men Charged With Murder In Brick Man's Shooting: Prosecutor

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Two men have been charged with murder in the shooting death of a Brick Township man whose body was found outside a Toms River apartment building just over a week ago, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato announced Wednesday.

Sevon Hill, 24, of Toms River, and Shakar Barksdale, a.k.a. “Anthony” Barksdale, 24, of Seaside Heights were arrested Tuesday in the death of Steven E. Stallworth, 30, who was found dead and with a gunshot wound outside the doorstep of an apartment at the Hampton Gardens apartment complex, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the prosecutor's office.

Stallworth was found dead on March 5 when Toms River police responded to a 911 call at 9:19 p.m. at the James Street complex. He was pronounced dead at 10:34 p.m. by Dr. Torres of Newark Beth Israel Hospital via telemetry, Della Fave said. An autopsy the following day at Community Medical Center resulted in a ruling by the medical examiner's office that Stallworth had died as a result of the gunshot wound, he said.

The investigation led to the identification of two suspects, Hill and Barksdale, who were living at a local motel prior to the murder, Della Fave said.

On the night of the murder, a large quantity of cocaine and heroin were discovered in the motel room the two were sharing, he said.

"Through further investigation, it was determined that Sevon Hill and Anthony Barksdale entered into a conspiracy and did commit the murder of Steven Stallworth," Della Fave said.

After Stallworth was killed, the investigation found, the two relocated to another motel, he said. A search of that hotel, the two were again found to be in possession of quantities of cocaine and heroin, and were charged accordingly, he said.

Hill and Barksdale each have been charged with one count of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, certain persons not to possess a firearm, three counts of second-degree possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance (heroin and cocaine), third-degree possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance and two counts of third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance, Della Fave said.

Both are currently being held at the Ocean County Jail, Della Fave said.

Supervising Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Michael R. Weatherstone is prosecuting the case.

The investigation was conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crimes Unit, the Toms River Police Department, the Ocean County Sherriff’s Department Criminalistics Investigation Unit, New Jersey State Police, the Manchester Police Department, the Lacey Police Department, the Seaside Heights Police Department, and the Brick Police Department.

Any person with information relevant to this investigation should contact Detective John Carroll of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit 732-929-2027 ext. 3964 or Detective Lou Santora of the Toms River Police Department 732-349-0150, ext. 1276.

Photos via the Ocean County Corrections Department