Two men have pleaded guilty in connection with a deadly July 2023 shooting in Asbury Park that killed one and injured two others, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced.
Ziamere Ivery, 18, of Neptune Township, appeared before Superior Court Judge Jill G. O’Malley on May 9, pleading guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter. Under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act (NERA), Ivery faces up to 18 years in state prison, with at least 85 percent of the sentence required to be served before eligibility for parole.
Michael Sally, 20, of Long Branch, also pleaded guilty to second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon. He faces a potential seven-year sentence with a mandatory minimum of 42 months to be served under the Graves Act, which imposes strict penalties for firearms offenses.
The charges stem from a shooting that occurred just after 10:30 p.m. on July 3, 2023, at the Asbury Park Gardens apartment complex on Atlantic Avenue. Responding officers found three adult male victims with gunshot wounds. Two survived; the third, Lativity Lyons, 21, of Asbury Park, was pronounced dead at 10:50 p.m. A fourth intended target escaped without injury.
An intensive investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Bureau and the Asbury Park Police Department led to charges against both Ivery and Sally. Ivery, originally charged as a juvenile, was later waived up to adult court.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutors Joseph Cummings and Travis Clark. Ivery is represented by Monika Mastellone, Esq., of Freehold, and Sally by Raymond L. Hamlin, Esq., of Newark.
Sentencing dates are pending.
