TOMS RIVER – An Asbury Park teen voluntarily waived his right and will face attempted murder and weapons offenses in an adult court after a shooting outside a Brick high School last October.
In an announcement by Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer Alonzo Legrande, 18, of Asbury Park, was charged as an adult with four counts of Attempted Murder, Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon.
Legrande, who was 17 years-old when the crimes occurred, voluntarily waived jurisdiction of the Family Court and has agreed to be prosecuted as an adult.
Around 1:45 p.m. on October 22, 2019, Brick Township Police were summoned to Brick Memorial High School for a report of a student who had sustained a gunshot wound.
An investigation revealed that the student was walking home from school with three friends when he was shot approximately one-quarter mile away from Brick Memorial; he then ran back to the school for help.
Brick Police and school officials locked down the high school as well as neighboring schools as a precaution prior to determining there was no immediate danger to students. The victim was treated at Ocean Medical Center in Brick Township and released.
Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Brick Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit reviewed video surveillance footage from nearby residences.
Video surveillance depicted Legrande and Luis Rivas, who was also a juvenile at the time and has also agreed to be prosecuted as an adult, acting together and in support of one another in carrying out the shooting.
It was later revealed that Legrande was, in fact, the individual who fired the weapon. He was apprehended on October 23, 2019, and has been lodged in the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center since his apprehension.
Rivas pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Assault and is presently scheduled to be sentenced on October 2, 2020 at which time the State will be seeking a term of five years New Jersey State Prison subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act.
Prosecutor Billhimer commends the work of Chief Juvenile Assistant Prosecutor Anthony Pierro and Assistant Prosecutor Madeline Buczynski who together have handled the case on behalf of the State. He also thanked the efforts and persistence of all of the law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation, including the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Victim Witness Advocacy Unit, Brick Township Police Department, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Toms River Township Police Department, Lakewood Township Police Department, Bay Head Borough Police Department, Point Pleasant Beach Police Department, Asbury Park Police Department, Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Monmouth County Emergency Response Team, Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Police, New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center, and the United States Marshals Service.
