3 Face Charges In Pair Of Asbury Park Shootings

ASBURY PARK – Three men are facing charges related to two separate shootings in Asbury Park as part of a clash between rivals back in December, according to prosecutors.

One of the men was involved in both shootings, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced on Thursday.

Antonio Pabon, 26, of Jackson Street in Freehold is charged in both shootings. Pabon is facing

two counts each of first-degree conspiracy to commit murder and several gun charges, according to the MCPO.

The charges are related to a Dec. 2, 2019 shooting on the 1200 block of Washington Avenue and a Dec. 4, 2019 shooting on Mattison Avenue, the MCPO said.

Izais Normil, 24, of 8th Avenue in Neptune Township, is facing charges of first-degree conspiracy
to commit murder and gun charges connected to the Dec. 4, 2019 shooting, the MCPO said.

Ja’air Butler, 24, of Sunset Avenue in Asbury Park, is facing charges of first-degree conspiracy to
commit murder and gun charges connected to the Dec. 4, 2019 shooting on Mattison Avenue.

The first occurred at approximately 1:26 a.m. on December 2. The Asbury Park Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting multiple shots fired in the 1200 block of Washington Avenue, and a separate report of a victim of a gunshot wound at a nearby Washington Avenue residence, the MCPO said.

Upon arrival, officers located a 24-year-old male victim with a single gunshot wound to his upper left arm. The victim was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center for treatment of a non-life-threatening injury, the MCPO said.

A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and APPD revealed that the victim was leaving a residence in the 1200 block of Washington Avenue when he heard several gunshots and was struck in the arm, the MCPO said.

The victim ran to a nearby Washington Avenue residence where he asked the resident to call 911. The APPD and Asbury Park Fire Department First Aid arrived on scene a short time later and he was transported to JSUMC, the MCPO said.

Further investigation uncovered evidence that multiple shooters ambushed the victim as he exited the residence on Washington Avenue, the MCPO said.

Two days later, the APPD responded to a 911 call at about 9:15 p.m. on December 4 reporting shots fired in the 1300 block of Mattison Avenue, the MCPO said.

Upon arrival, officers located multiple shell casings fired from multiple handguns at the intersection of Borden and Mattison avenues, the MCPO said.

Once again, a joint investigation by MCPO and APPD revealed the shooting was the culmination of a vehicle dispute that started in the area of the Atkins Avenue Deli, and winding its way through Asbury Park, the MCPO said.

Multiple shooters fired shots into a vehicle at the intersection of Mattison and Borden avenues the MCPO said.

The following day, at about 4:20 p.m. on December 5, APPD officers were traveling east on the 1100 block of Adams Street when they observed a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle involved in the Mattison Avenue shooting and stopped he vehicle, the MCPO said.

Officers located two loaded handguns in the vehicle. As a result, Pabon, Butler and Normil were charged that day with weapons possession and transported to the Monmouth County
Correctional Institution (MCCI) in Freehold Township, the MCPO Pabon, Normil and Butler each had their First Appearances today before the Judge James M. Newman.

All three men remained detained at MCCI.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Detectives Patrick Petruzziello or John Sosdian of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 800-533-7443 or Detectives Lemar Whittaker or Cynthia Yost of the Asbury Park Police Department at 732-774-1300.

Anyone who feels the need to remain anonymous but has information about a crime can contact Monmouth County Crime Stoppers confidential telephone tip-line by calling 1-800-671-4400; or, they can post their tip at https://www.p3tips.com/1182