Two men have been charged with the 2011 murder of Asbury Park resident Ronald Chisolm, 45.
Chisolm was robbed and shot dead on Feb. 21, 2011. Joshua Simmons, 24, of Asbury Park, and Kalil Griffin, 25, of Long Branch, were charged with one count each of felony murder, armed robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, Monmouth County Prosecutor Peter E. Washaw Jr. announced today in a press release.
A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Asbury Park Police Department commenced after Ronald Chisolm was discovered deceased in his Asbury Park apartment located at 213 Second Ave.
Chisolm was discovered after the Asbury Park Police Department was asked to perform a welfare check on him, as he had not been seen since Feb. 18, according to the release.
The investigation revealed both Simmons and Griffin knew Chisolm and had visited him at Chisolm’s apartment on Feb. 18, according to the release. Investigating officers allege both defendants robbed Chisolm in his apartment and killed him during the course of the robbery. Chisolm’s body was left in the apartment until the police welfare check.
On February 25, Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Thomas F. Scully, P.Cr., set
both Simmons’s and Griffin’s bail at $1.5 million with no ten-percent cash option. Both
defendants are lodged at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution and remain in custody in lieu of bail, acccording to the release.
If convicted of first-degree felony murder, each defendant faces a minimum sentence of
30 years in New Jersey State Prison with a 30-year period of parole ineligibility, and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The first-degree robbery charge carries a sentence of between 10 and 20 years in State prison, and the second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon charge carries a sentence of between 5 and 10 years in State prison.
All three of theses charges are subject to the “No Early Release Act,” which requires that a defendant serve 85% of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for parole. The second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose charge carries a sentence of between five and 10 years, with a minimum period of parole ineligibility of between three and five years.
Despite these charges, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial
rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and State law.
The case is assigned to Assistant Prosecutor Thomas C. Huth, the Director of the Office’s
Asbury Park Satellite Office. Simmons is represented by Michael J. DeBlis, Esq. of Freehold.
Griffin is represented by Robert J. Konzelmann, Esq. of Freehold.
