Man Admits Shooting Jackson Victim In The Face

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Monmouth County man has pleaded guilty in a 2024 incident where he shot a Jackson Township man in the face, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday.

Michael J. Vulpis, 26, of Freehold, pleaded guilty on Monday to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose before Superior Court Judge Kimarie Rahill in the shooting on June 27 in Jackson, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Vulpis is scheduled for sentencing on April 4, and prosecutors will be seeking concurrent 5-year sentences on the two charges, with 42 months of parole ineligibility on the weapons charge, authorities said.

Charges remain pending against two other men in the case: Noah Phelps, 24, of Monroe Township, accused of being the second attacker on the night of the shooting, and Glenn Franzson, 32, of Jackson Township, accused of conspiring to intimidate the victim into lying about what happened, prosecutors said. All three were indicted in the case in September.

Billhimer said the guilty plea by Vulpis was the result of negotiations after the victim refused to cooperate with prosecutors.

“The state is required to prove each and every element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt — the highest standard of proof recognized under the law," Billhimer said. "Where, as in this case, the victim of a crime remains uncooperative with the prosecution’s efforts, it makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the state to satisfy its legal burden of proof."

"As such, the state reluctantly entered into this negotiated resolution — in the absence of victim cooperation — so that some level of justice might nevertheless be accomplished," he said.

On June 27, Jackson police were called to a home on Larsen Road about 12:20 a.m. for a 27-year-old man who had suffered a gunshot wound to the face, the prosecutor's office said.

Investigators learned the victim and a woman were sitting in a parked vehicle outside a home when a blue sedan pulled up and parked in front of the vehicle, blocking it in, authorities said. Two men got out, approached and knocked on the window of the vehicle. When the victim got out, one of the men began punching him, and one of the assailants — later identified as Vulpis — shot the victim in the face, authorities said. The attackers then took off.

The victim was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune where he was treated and later released, authorities said.

Vulpis was arrested July 3 and has been held in the Ocean County Jail since then.

Investigators later determined Phelps was the second attacker and that Phelps and Vulpis conspired to attack the victim, prosecutors said. Phelps was charged Aug. 15 with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He surrendered to the Freehold Township Police Department on Aug. 16 and was taken to the Ocean County Jail but later released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform, prosecutors said.

Authorities also determined that Franzson and Vulpis had conspired to contact the victim to try to get him to lie to law enforcement about what happened, prosecutors said, and Franzson was charged with witness tampering and conspiracy to commit witness tampering. An Aug. 15 search of Franzson’s home turned up an unspecified amount of methamphetamine and a Polymer 80 handgun (ghost gun) with a high-capacity magazine, prosecutors said. Franzson was arrested, and when he was searched as a result of the arrest, authorities found him in possession of cocaine, prosecutors said.

The weapons and drug seizures resulted in additional charges against Franzson of possession of a weapon without a serial number, possession of a high-capacity ammunition magazine, possession of cocaine, and possession of methamphetamine, prosecutors said. He was taken to the Ocean County Jail and subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform.