LITTLE EGG HARBOR – A 29-year-old is facing a possible 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to Aggravated Manslaughter.
Kendrick Coley, of Little Egg Harbor, made the plea in relation to the stabbing death of Richard Pone, 28, of Little Egg Harbor, on May 16, 2018.
The Little Egg Harbor Police Department had received a phone call that evening that a man in the home had a knife, and that another man had been stabbed. Police found Coley in the home’s garage. They were directed by a female in the home to a second-floor bedroom, where Pone was unresponsive with a stab wound to his upper left chest. He was pronounced dead at 8:42 p.m.
Authorities say Coley and Pone had a fight. Pone was allegedly confronting Coley about an earlier assault against a female at the residence. Coley retrieved a kitchen knife and stabbed Pone in the upstairs bedroom.
He had originally been indicted for Murder, Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon.
His sentencing will be on December 3. The State is seeking a term of 20 years, and 85% of that would have to be served before being eligible for parole under the No Early Release Act.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer commended the efforts of Chief Trial Attorney Michael Weatherstone and Assistant Prosecutor Kimberly Carr who handled the case on behalf of the State, as well as the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Little Egg Harbor Police Department Detective Bureau, Little Egg Harbor Police Department, Tuckerton Borough Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their collaborative efforts.
