Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on January 29, 2024, Angelo Grenci, 47, of Berkeley Township, pled guilty to Aggravated Manslaughter before the Honorable Kimarie Rahill, J.S.C., in connection with the death of Carlton Williams, 50, of Seaside Heights, in Berkeley Township, on November 14, 2020. At the time of his sentencing on April 19, 2024, the State will be seeking a term of 25 years New Jersey State Prison, subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act.
During the evening hours of November 14, 2020, Officers from the Toms River Township Police Department and Berkeley Township Police Department responded to RWJ Barnabas Community Medical Center in Toms River relative to a report of a male victim having been stabbed. Responding Officers found the victim, Carlton Williams, with an apparent stab wound to his neck. Mr. Williams was subsequently flown to Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center in New Brunswick, where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries on November 21, 2020. A post mortem examination was performed by the Ocean County Medical Examiner on November 22, 2020. The Medical Examiner determined the cause of Mr. Williams’s death to be anoxic brain injury secondary to massive bleed from a stab to the neck, and the manner of death to be homicide.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Berkeley Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, determined that Grenci stabbed Mr. Williams in the neck during an altercation that occurred in the area of Magnolia Avenue in the Manitou Park section of Berkeley Township at approximately 7:00 p.m. on November 14, 2020. On November 16, 2020, Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Ocean County Regional SWAT Team, and Berkeley Township Police Department Detective Bureau, executed a court-authorized search warrant at Grenci’s residence in Berkeley Township. Grenci was taken into custody without incident, and initially transported to and lodged in the Ocean County Jail; Grenci has since been lodged in New Jersey State Prison where he is presently serving a sentence on an unrelated matter.
Prosecutor Billhimer acknowledges the diligent efforts of Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Michael Abatemarco and Assistant Prosecutor Victoria Veni who have handled the case on behalf of the State, and commends the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Ocean County Regional SWAT Team, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Victim Witness Advocacy Unit, Berkeley Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Toms River Township Police Department, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office, Ocean County Department of Corrections, State of New Jersey Department of Corrections, and New Jersey State Parole Board, for their collaborative efforts in connection with this matter leading to Grenci’s swift apprehension, guilty plea, and soon his state prison sentence.