TOMS RIVER — A 23-year-old Berkeley Township man has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and an unrelated robbery charge stemming from two separate incidents in 2024 and 2025, authorities said.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that Shakim Varick entered the guilty pleas on February 20 before Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer.
The aggravated assault charge relates to a May 30, 2024, incident in the Manitou Park section of Berkeley Township. Police were called to the basketball courts on Third Avenue around 10 p.m. after receiving a report of a handgun being brandished. Officers determined that a man approached the victim at the courts and pointed a firearm at him. Investigators later identified Varick as the suspect.
Varick was arrested June 17, 2024, at his home in South Toms River without incident. He was charged by summons and released pending court appearances.
He also pleaded guilty to a robbery connected to a January 13, 2025, incident near the Eastern Soccer Complex in Berkeley Township. Police said the victim had arranged to meet someone for a business transaction. When the individual arrived, he allegedly displayed a handgun, demanded more money and threatened serious harm if the victim did not comply. The victim fled and alerted authorities.
Investigators identified Varick as the suspect, and he was taken into custody at his residence later that day. He has remained lodged in the Ocean County Jail since his arrest.
At sentencing scheduled for April 17, prosecutors will seek 18 months in New Jersey State Prison with an 18-month period of parole ineligibility on the aggravated assault conviction. On the robbery charge, the state will seek a 10-year prison term subject to the No Early Release Act, which requires a substantial portion of the sentence to be served before parole eligibility. The sentences are expected to run concurrently.
Assistant Prosecutor Genna Moscato is handling the case for the state.
Billhimer credited the Berkeley Township Police Department, South Toms River Police Department, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Squad, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit and the Ocean County Regional SWAT Team for their work in the investigations.
