By dick metzgar
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — Significant jail terms in state prison have been imposed on four men, one the gunman, in connection with a shooting on Throckmorton Street that seriously wounded four borough men two years ago.
Thomas "Yummy" Simms, 22, of Asbury Park, was sentenced to 40 years, and his brother, Michael Simms, 20, of the borough, was sentenced to 10 years by state Superior Court Judge Ira E. Kreizman, sitting in Freehold, on Sept. 27.
Two other borough men who were charged in the shooting, John K. Simms, 36, and Jamal Shereef Sconiers, 30, earlier pled guilty to charges in the shooting. John Simms pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and Sconiers pleaded guilty to being an accomplice to possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor John F. Hazard Jr.
Earlier this year, John Simms and Sconiers were sentenced to 10 years in prison, and each must serve three years before becoming eligible for parole, Hazard said.
The four men, according to the prosecutor’s office, drove up to a house on Throckmorton Street, near Broad Street, between 10-10:30 p.m. Oct. 19, 2000. It was then, prosecutors said, that Thomas Simms gunned down the four victims with a 9 mm automatic handgun.
The victims were Timothy Parrish, 36, Anthony Parrish, 30, Amin R. Saluki, also known as Michael Parrish, 20, and Marcus Bailey, 20.
Timothy and Anthony Parrish each lost an eye as a result of the shooting, and Timothy Parrish lost part of his brain. Saluki was shot in the buttocks. Bailey was shot in the cheek, and the bullet exited the back of his head.
Thomas Simms was convicted in May on 20 charges, including two counts of attempted murder and two charges of attempted manslaughter. Michael Simms was cleared of attempted murder by a jury in May, but was convicted of three counts of aggravated assault.
Heroic efforts by doctors of the trauma unit at Jersey Shore Medical Center, Neptune, were credited with saving the lives of all four victims.
Kreizman ordered that Thomas Simms and Michael Simms each serve 85 percent of their terms before becoming eligible for parole. That means 34 years for Thomas Simms, and eight years, six months for Michael Simms before they can be considered for parole.