Death of man shot in chest in Asbury Park ruled a homicide

Ken Serrano and Joshua Chung, Asbury Park Press
·2 min read

ASBURY PARK - The death of a man shot in the chest Nov. 2 in the city and who died hours later has been ruled a homicide, officials said.

The victim was 24-year-old Dymir Leonard, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.

Just after 9:45 p.m. on Nov. 2, an off-duty Asbury Park Police Department lieutenant, driving his personal vehicle, was stopped on Memorial Drive and Bangs Avenue.

The lieutenant came upon Leonard, who told the officer he had been shot. Leonard was rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he was pronounced dead about 4:15 a.m. the next day.

An autopsy deemed the incident to be a homicide and the cause of death a gunshot wound to the chest, the Prosecutor's Office said.

No hometown was given for Leonard.

An investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office’s Major Crimes Bureau and the Asbury Park Police Department into Leonard's death is still in progress.

The Prosecutor's Office, however, said nothing about the fatal shooting of a man in Long Branch early Saturday by law enforcement officers after they attempted to execute a warrant in connection with a homicide. A city official late Friday said the warrant pertained to a shooting in Asbury Park.

Fatal shooting: Five questions about the police shooting in Long Branch

Asked about a connection between the homicide in Asbury Park and the fatal shooting in Long Branch, a spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office referred calls to the state Attorney General's Office.

Long Branch shooting: Detective shot while serving warrant in the city Friday evening

A detective from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office was shot in the lower leg while that warrant was being executed Friday, authorities said. He was treated that night at an area hospital and released.

The Prosecutor's Office is urging anyone with information about Leonard's death to call Detective Matthew Delgado at the Prosecutor's Office at 800-533-7443.

Ken Serrano has covered crime, breaking news, investigations and local issues in New Jersey for more than 20 years. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or kserrano@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Asbury Park shooting: Death of Dymir Leonard ruled homicide