Lakewood Man Indicted For Murder In Stabbing Death : Prosecutor's Office

An Ocean County grand jury recently indicted a Lakewood man for first-degree murder in the stabbing death of another Lakewood man who tried to drive himself to the hospital after the incident, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Darneil Lee Reeves, 32, was indicted on Oct. 12 on one count of first degree murder, one count of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purposes and unlawful possession of a weapon, said spokesman Al Della Fave.

Reeves faces a maximum sentence of 30 years to life without the possibility of parole. He is lodged in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River in lieu of $1 million cash bail, Della Fave said.

Hassan Parker, 33, tried to drive himself to a hospital after stabbing. But his car crashed into a utility pole on the corner of John Street and River Avenue at 11:20 p.m. on June 22. First responders discovered Parker had a stab wound in his chest.

He was taken to Monmouth Medical Center, where he died during the early morning hours of June 23, 2015, he said.

The Ocean County Medical Examiner's Office later ruled that Parker died from the stab wound, Della Fave said

Authorities said Reeves stabbed Parker just minutes before he crashed his car into the pole, while Parker was seated in his car in the parking lot of the Martin Luther King Jr. apartment complex in Lakewood.

"The distance between the parking lot and the crash scene is less than a mile," Della Fave said. "Investigators believe that Parker was trying to drive himself to the hospital at the time of the crash."

The Ocean County Major Crimes Unit and the Lakewood Police Department, with assistance from the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department CSI conducted the investigation.

by Patricia A. Miller

Image: Ocean County Prosecutor's Office