Crime & Safety

Long Branch Man Charged in September Homicide

Shooting occurred outside Asbury Park deli

A Long Branch man was charged Wednesday with homicide and possession of a weapon in connection with a Sept. 1, 2012 shooting outside an Asbury Park deli, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.

Ronald T. Daniels Jr., 23, was charged Wednesday with homicide and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose following a joint investigation by the Asbury Park Police Department and Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office after Jerome Wright was shot and killed outside the Atkins Deli on Atkins Avenue in Asbury Park.

Daniels is being held in the Burlington County Detention Center, Mount Holly, on $2 million bail with no 10 percent option, as set by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Richard W. English Jr. J.S.C.

Find out what's happening in Long Branch-Eatontownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Daniels is one of 52 people charged in December, 2012 as part of Operation Hats Off – an 8-month investigation targeting heroin trafficking in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Daniels is charged as one of two ringleaders of a criminal enterprise conspiring with members of a street gang known as the “Fruit Town Brims,” a set of the “Bloods” street gang responsible for the distribution of significant quantities of heroin throughout Monmouth and Ocean counties.

The investigation revealed the drug distribution ring was about 10,000 bags of heroin per week.

Find out what's happening in Long Branch-Eatontownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This case is assigned to Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutors Christopher Matthews and Noah Heck.

Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.