Anthony Sims, the 19-year-old who became a fugitive for two months after a Red Bank shooting that left two men near death in late November, has been indicted for attempted murder, the Asbury Park Press reports.
A Monmouth County grand jury handed down the indictment today, charging Sims with three counts of first-degree attempted murder and three weapons-possession counts, the Press reports.
The newspaper identifies Sims as an Eatontown resident; he was previously said to have lived both in Eatontown and in Red Bank.
Sims was suspected in the twin shooting, and the attempted shooting of a third man, in the incident that occurred near midnight on Nov. 26 at Montgomery Terrace Apartments, a borough-owned housing project on Tilton Avenue. But he fled the scene immediately, and remained on the lam until Highlands police stumbled upon him in an early morning drug raid Feb. 2.
The shooting victims, who apparently are still not being identified as authorities, were said by neighbors to be brothers.
Both were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, though one was released within days. The other victim “is still undergoing rehabilitative therapy for a neck wound that left him partially paralyzed at the time,” the Press reports.
The crime galvanized an anti-crime movement and led to several vigils and community events aimed at addressing the factors underlying crime.
Sims is being held on $3 million bail. He faces up to 20 years in prison for each attempted-murder charge and 10 years per weapons charge. He’s expected to be arraigned before Superior Court Judge Francis P. DeStefano within the next several weeks, the Press reports, citing the county prosecutor’s office.
