NY Man Convicted In Freehold Borough Shooting That Injured 2, Prosecutor Says

FREEHOLD BOROUGH, NJ — A man from Brooklyn, New York, has been convicted in connection with a 2023 shooting that injured a man and woman in Freehold Borough, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said Friday.

Damian Bell, 51, will face a term of up to 60 years in state prison when he is sentenced on Thursday, Oct. 16, Santiago said.

On Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, around 7 a.m., Freehold Borough Police responded to a home on Center Street for the report of a shooting incident.

Once officers arrived, prosecutors said they found two victims, a man and a woman, both suffering from gunshot wounds. The two were then brought to a local hospital for treatment.

An investigation by the Major Crimes Bureau of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Freehold Borough Police Department (led by MCPO Detective Thomas Manzo and Freehold Borough Police Lt. John Reiff) revealed that Bell had gotten into a verbal argument that later turned physical with the male victim, Santiago said.

Following this argument, authorities said Bell got a handgun from upstairs, went back downstairs, and shot both victims, including the female victim, as she tried to run away while carrying her young child. Bell fled before police arrived.

In March 2024, Santiago said Bell was later found and arrested in Rowan County, North Carolina.

A two-week trial before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Joseph Oxley resulted in guilty verdicts for Bell on two counts of second-degree aggravated assault, along with single counts of three related weapons offenses, including one first-degree and two second-degree charges.

The case is being handled by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Luciano of the Major Crimes Bureau. Bell is represented by Shane Paugh, Esq. of Middletown.

Previous Coverage

• No Arrests Yet In Freehold Shooting That Injured Man, Woman