Nearly five years after Timothy Parrish, 33, of Freehold Borough, was accused of shooting two men in town, he has been found guilty of attempted murder. Parrish is scheduled to be sentenced for his crimes on Jan. 10.
Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced on Oct. 11 that a trial jury found Parrish guilty of first degree attempted murder and related charges for the 2014 shooting of two men.
Parrish was found guilty of shooting Roberto Diaz, 40, and Frank Lavacca, 35, after a trial in front of state Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley, sitting in Freehold, according to a press release.
The charges were the result of a joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Freehold Borough Police Department.
On Dec. 27, 2014, police officers responded to the Metropolitan Café, East Main Street, Freehold Borough, for a report of a shooting. Inside the restaurant, officers located Diaz and Lavacca with gunshot wounds and life-threatening injuries.
Both men were transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, where they underwent emergency surgery and remained hospitalized for several days, Gramiccioni said.
After officers interviewed witnesses and reviewed video surveillance, they learned
Parrish shot both men as he chased them through a nearby alleyway, according to the prosecutor.
Parrish was arrested on Jan. 8, 2015 and was incarcerated for five years awaiting trail, according to Charles Webster, a spokesman for the prosecutor. Parrish will receive credit for time served when he is sentenced on Jan. 10.
Webster said Parrish did not testify during his trial and he said no motive for the shooting was presented. He said it took five years for the case to work its way through the court system in part because the case was transferred among three judges during that time.
Parrish faces a minimum sentence of 20 years to a maximum sentence of life in a state prison for the attempted murder charge.
Due to a previous firearms conviction, Parrish faces a mandatory extended term sentence between 20 years to life imprisonment on the charges of attempted murder and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Parrish also faces a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years in prison on aggravated assault. On the charge of certain persons not to have a firearm, Parrish faces an additional prison sentence of between five and 10 years, according to the prosecutor.