Jury Indicts Little Egg Man In Stabbing Death: Prosecutor

TOMS RIVER, NJ An Ocean County grand jury recently indicted a Little Egg Harbor man for murder in the stabbing death of a township man back in May, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato said.

Kendrick Coley, 26, was also indicted for possession of weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon in the death of Richard Pone, 28, spokesman Al Della Fave said..

Little Egg Harbor police responded to a 911 call from 21 Maplewood Drive at 8:15 p.m. on May 16 reporting that a man in the home had a knife and that another man inside the house had been stabbed, Della Fave said.

Authorities encountered Coley, in the garage area of the residence and immediately apprehended him to determine what had taken place, he said.

A woman at the home directed police to a second floor bedroom, where they found Pone unresponsive with a stab to his left upper chest area. Pone was pronounced dead at the scene 8:42 pm. The medical examiner later determined the cause of death was a stab wound to the chest and ruled the death a homicide, Della Fave said.

A joint investigation by the Prosecutor's Major Crimes Unit and Little Egg Harbor police found that there had been an altercation between Coley and Pone. Coley took a kitchen knife and stabbed Pone in the upstairs bedroom. The altercation resulted after Pone confronted Coley about an assault against a female at the home that had taken place earlier, Della Fave said.

OCPO Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Bridget Coughlin and Assistant Prosecutor Ashley Tito are the prosecuting attorneys. The lead investigators in the case are OCPO Major Crimes Unit Det. John Murphy and Little Egg Harbor Police Det. Steven Martin. The Ocean County Sheriff’s Department CSI processed the crime scene and provided evidence collection and preservation throughout the murder investigation.

Photo: Courtesy of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office