Seaside Heights man admits stabbing at Brick supermarket

TOMS RIVER - A Seaside Heights man is facing seven years in prison after admitting he stabbed another man in the back in the parking lot of the ShopRite supermarket in Brick in 2021, said Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.

Michael Stallworth, 35, made the admission Monday to Superior Court Judge Lisa A. Puglisi in pleading guilty to aggravated assault, Billhimer said.

Authorities said the stabbing took place about 4 p.m. on July 26, 2021, in the parking lot of the supermarket on Route 70. Police responded and found the 44-year-old victim suffering from stab wounds to his back. The victim, whose name was not released, was treated for his injuries at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune and released.

After an investigation into the stabbing identified Stallworth as the assailant, he remained a fugitive for more than a month, finally surrendering to the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 29, 2021. He has been held in the Ocean County Jail since then.

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Stallworth is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 24. At that time, Shanon Chant-Berry, the assistant Ocean County prosecutor who handled the case, will ask the judge to impose a seven-year prison term, Billhimer said.

Stallworth will have to serve 85% of whatever sentence he receives before he can be considered for release on parole, under the state’s No Early Release Act, the prosecutor said.

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Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Brick NJ supermarket stabbing suspect faces seven year sentence