A jury in Monmouth County Superior Court recently indicted a 25-year-old Sea Bright man who is accused of stabbing a retired police officer outside of a Long Branch bar. The defendant is facing several serious criminal charges, including first-degree attempted murder, second-degree aggravated assault, and various weapons offenses.
The aforementioned case began at approximately 11:45 p.m. on April 9th at the Arena Bar in Long Branch. The defendant, 25-year-old Sea Bright resident Michael Carter, was allegedly involved in an altercation before being removed from the bar by security personnel, as well as Joseph Walker, a retired member of the Long Branch Police Department, and one of Walker’s friends.
After the incident inside the bar, Walker was stabbed 4 times in the face and stomach and his friend was stabbed once in the back. Fortunately, both received medical treatment and are currently recovering. Carter and another man, 26-year-old Eatontown resident Emmanuel Bylander, reportedly attempted to flee but were arrested shortly therafter.
The recent indictment was issued against Carter, while Bylander’s case has yet to go before the grand jury. As for the charges that Carter is facing, first degree attempted murder is among the most egregious charges in the New Jersey Criminal Code. First degree crimes are punishable by a term of imprisonment ranging from 10 to 20 years. In addition, attempted murder entails a period of mandatory parole ineligibility that is 85% of the sentence imposed, per the terms of New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA).
Note that in this case, the charges include attempted murder and aggravated assault, because there were two victims injured. The State is often tasked with determining whether or not an offense constitutes attempted murder or aggravated assault, particularly when an assault is committed with a weapon and the victim is seriously injured. The degree of bodily injured suffered by the victim is one of the primary determinants of the degree of an aggravated assault charge, as well as whether or not an offense was in fact, an attempted murder.
For additional information pertaining to this case, access the following article: Shore man indicted on charges he tried to kill retired cop