A Howell resident was sentenced on Jan. 25 to a 15-year prison term after pleading guilty last year to one count of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.
Julius K. Garrett, 26, of Howell, was sentenced to 15 years in state prison by state Superior Court Judge Francis J. Vernoia, sitting in Freehold.
The prison sentence is subject to the No Early Release Act, which means Garrett will have to serve 85 percent of the sentence, or more than 12 years and nine months, before he is eligible for parole.
Garrett pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter on Nov. 30 after admitting he stabbed Scott Gregory, 24, of Howell, in the early-morning hours of June 20, 2010, according to the prosecutor’s office. At about 4:06 a.m., the Howell Police Department responded to a 911 report of an unconscious man lying on the side of Fort Plains Road in the township.
The first responding officer arrived on scene to observe the victim, Gregory, showing no signs of life. The officer and members of the Howell First Aid Squad attempted to resuscitate Gregory without success, and he was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:35 a.m. by a doctor from a nearby hospital.
Garrett turned himself in at the Howell Police Department the next day, June 21.
A joint investigation by detectives from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and Howell Police Department revealed that Gregory and Garrett, who were friends, at some point during the lateevening hours of June 19 and into the early-morning hours of June 20, walked together to a party at a nearby township residence.
The party later broke up following a dispute between the two men, which resulted in minor head injuries for both men.
Gregory walked home from the party along Fort Plains Road accompanied by another male friend, while Garrett was driven to his brother’s home with three girls who also attended the party. After arriving at his brother’s residence, where he was staying at the time of the incident, Garrett exited the car and returned a short time later with his brother.
The two brothers entered the waiting vehicle and continued on along Fort Plains Road when Garrett observed Gregory and the other male. Garrett then asked the female driver stop the car.
Once the car stopped, Garrett and his brother exited the vehicle to engage Gregory, while the male who had been walking with Gregory ran off into a nearby wooded area.
The vehicle with the three females inside left the scene, and another fight ensued between Garrett and Gregory, as Garrett’s brother unsuccessfully attempted to separate the two men. The fight culminated with Garrett stabbing Gregory once in the chest and once in the back before he fled the scene.
Gregory died a short time later. An autopsy conducted later that day revealed he died as a result of the stab wound to his chest, according to the information provided by the prosecutor’s office.