In a Manchester ShopRite Parking Lot, an 87-year-old Woman Was Struck by a Car and Is In Critical Condition
February 24, 2022Nicole Nelson, Missing Woman from Jackson, NJ Has Been Located
February 24, 2022
Sgt. Matthew S. Horton, 40, of Berkeley
The Ocean County Sheriff's Department is reeling at the loss of their second deputy in less than a week.
Sgt. Matthew S. Horton, 40, of Berkeley, died on Tuesday in the hospital from COVID-19 complications. According to the Sheriff's Office, he was the first leader of the department's Rapid Deployment Team and worked in the judicial, field services, and professional standards units.
Horton is survived by his wife and four sons.
Horton joined the Sheriff's Department in 2007 after serving in the Marine Corps and graduating from the Ocean County Police Academy in Lakewood the following year.
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, the department stated, "Sgt. Horton was a true gentleman and a man of God."
Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy said he was told Friday night that Horton's condition was deteriorating and that his physicians did not expect him to live. The news was delivered when the sheriff and his deputies were attending a memorial service for Sheriff's Officer Brian Stockhoff, 41, who died in an automobile accident on Feb. 14.
According to the sheriff, Stockhoff and Horton both graduated from the same academy class in 2008.
When asked how his department was dealing with such a tragedy, Mastronardy replied, "We're getting through it."
The deaths of the two individuals, Mastronardy said, reminds him of how fortunate he is to work with such a great department of officers and personnel that serve and protect the citizens of Ocean County every day.
