TOMS RIVER — A 19-year-old township man has been sentenced to five years in state prison for firing at a bicyclist during a May 2024 shooting that left the rider unharmed, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced.
Anthony Ventrice was sentenced Oct. 16 by Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan after pleading guilty June 1 to aggravated assault and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
Ventrice must serve at least 85% of his five-year aggravated assault sentence before becoming eligible for parole under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act. Ryan also imposed a concurrent five-year sentence on the weapons charge, with parole eligibility barred for 42 months.
Police responded to several reports of gunfire near Camino Medio and Camino Verde around 4:05 p.m. May 14, 2024.
Investigators determined that Ventrice and Anthony Zigarelli, now 22, of Manchester, were standing beside a vehicle when a man rode past them on a bicycle. Ventrice pulled out a handgun and fired several times toward the cyclist, authorities said.
The two then got into the vehicle and drove past the rider as Zigarelli fired more shots at him, according to prosecutors. The cyclist was not struck.
Ventrice, who was a juvenile when the shooting occurred, was initially charged May 15, 2024, with attempted murder and two weapons offenses. Lakewood police arrested him May 22, and he was placed in the Ocean County Juvenile Detention Center.
His case was later transferred to adult criminal court. He was moved to the Ocean County Jail on May 30, 2025, and remained there pending sentencing.
Zigarelli was charged May 28, 2024, with attempted murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possessing a weapon as a prohibited person. Toms River police arrested him the following day.
He pleaded guilty June 1, 2026, to aggravated assault and possessing a weapon as a prohibited person. On Sept. 11, Ryan sentenced him to six years in prison for aggravated assault, requiring him to serve at least 85% before parole eligibility.
Zigarelli also received a concurrent five-year sentence on the weapons conviction, all of which must be served without parole.
Assistant Prosecutor Emma Hurst handled both cases. Toms River police, Lakewood police and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit assisted in the investigation.
The post Toms River Teen Gets 5 Years For Shooting At Cyclist appeared first on Jersey Shore Online.
