Men Indicted In Shooting Death At Toms River Apartment Complex

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A pair of Ocean County men were named in a 26-count indictment in connection with the shooting death of a Brick Township man outside a Toms River apartment complex in March, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato said Thursday.

Sevon Hill, 25, of Toms River, and Shakar Barksdale, aka "Anthony" Barksdale, 24, of Seaside Heights, were indicted by an Ocean County grand jury in the March 5 killing of Steven E. Stallworth, 30, of Brick, 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 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. The medical examiner ruled following an autopsy at Community Medical Center that Stallworth had died from a gunshot wound.

The investigation led to the identification of Hill and Barksdale, who were sharing a room at a local motel prior to the murder. On the night of the murder, a large quantity of cocaine and heroin were discovered in their room, and authorities allege the two conspired to kill Stallworth.

Authorities on March 12 located them at a different hotel, allegedly in possession of the cocaine, heroin and fentanyl, and arrested them.

Barksdale and Hill both are named together in 25 of the 26 counts, including first-degree robbery; two counts of first-degree murder; a count of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder; a count of unlawful possession of a handgun, a 9mm Ruger semiautomatic handgun; possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose; three counts each of possession and possession with intent to distribute heroin; three counts each of possession and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl; three counts of possession of cocaine; two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine; and possession and possession with intent to distribute 4-ANPP, used in the manufacture of fentanyl, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Hill is named alone in one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, a .357 Magnum revolver, according to the indictment.

The investigation was conducted by the Major Crimes and High Tech Crimes units of the prosecutor's office, along the Toms River Police Department, the Ocean County Sheriff’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.

Lead investigators in the case were Detective John Carroll of the Major Crimes Unit and Detective Lou Santora of the Toms River Police Department, with assistance from the sheriff’s CIU. Supervising Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Michael R. Weatherstone is prosecuting the case.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Shooting Death Under Investigation In Toms River: Report
• Brick Man Shot To Death In Toms River Identified
• 2 Men Charged With Murder In Brick Man's Shooting: Prosecutor

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Photos of Sevon Hill and Shakar aka "Anthony" Barksdale via Ocean County Corrections Department