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Tragic Incident: Man's Admission of Fatally Punching Bicyclist
According to the Ocean County Prosecutors Office, according to officials, on Tuesday, a man from Seaside Heights entered a guilty plea to manslaughter in connection with the death of a man he assaulted during an altercation in 2023.
In front of Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan on Monday, Anthony P. Collins, 41, entered a guilty plea regarding the death of Robert May, 70, of Seaside Heights on October 1, 2023.
According to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, the plea deal asks for a three-year jail sentence, subject to the state's No Early Release Act, at the time of sentencing, which is set for August.
May, a resident of Seaside Heights as well, was discovered bleeding from a cut on his head on September 18, 2023, at 4 p.m., on the ground next to his bicycle, according to the authorities.
After receiving treatment on the spot and declining any medical care, he left for his house. That day, at around five o'clock in the evening, someone called the Seaside Heights police to say that May had been acting strangely since the fall and that he was being treated at the
Community Medical Center in Toms River.
He was moved from Community to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he passed away on October 1 from his wounds.
Meanwhile, detectives discovered that Collins was the one who had struck May after he had been beaten, which had led to him falling off the bike and hitting his head. Authorities added that an autopsy revealed that he died from blunt force injuries.
Collins was charged on October 4, and since turning himself in to Seaside Heights police on October 15, he has been detained at the Ocean County Jail.
Terrence L. Turnbach, Collins's attorney, stated that during his plea, Collins informed Ryan that he had been accosted by May, who was riding a bicycle, as he had left Babe's Corner Store at 131 Sumner Ave.
Ryan was informed by Collins that May had used a racist slur against him. Collins responded by punching May in the face, which caused May to fall to the ground and strike his head on the curb.
Turnbach said to reporters in a statement, "Mr. Collins has accepted responsibility for his conduct on September 18, 2023." "He is eager to complete his period of incarceration and return to his children, his fiancé and his work."
"Certain proof problems in this case resulted in the state entering into a plea agreement with a recommended sentence that is below the normal sentencing range for manslaughter," Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
"The victim’s family recognizes and understands those issues, and is in support of this resolution. I commend them for their compassionate and forgiving nature."
