Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on February 11, 2022, Darneil Reeves, 38, of Lakewood, was sentenced by the Honorable Guy P. Ryan, J.S.C., to sixteen years New Jersey State Prison as a result of his previously entered guilty plea to Aggravated Manslaughter in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-4a(1), in connection with the stabbing death of Hassan Parker in Lakewood Township on June 22, 2015. This sentence will be subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2, meaning that Reeves will be required to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence before he may be considered for parole eligibility. Reeves pled guilty to the charge before Judge Ryan on December 22, 2021.
On June 22, 2015, Lakewood Township Police Officers, who were working an off-duty road detail, witnessed a motor vehicle crash into a telephone pole at the intersection of John Street and River Avenue in Lakewood. As Officers approached the vehicle, Hassan Parker, 32, of South Toms River, exited the vehicle, indicated that he had been stabbed, and collapsed. Shortly thereafter, paramedics arrived on scene; once in the ambulance, Mr. Parker expressed that Reeves was the individual who stabbed him. Mr. Parker was transported to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
A subsequent investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Lakewood Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, determined that Reeves stabbed Mr. Parker in the chest in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Center Street. Mr. Parker then drove away and crashed into the telephone pole.
On June 30, 2015, Reeves surrendered to the United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force with his attorney, and has been lodged in the Ocean County Jail since that date.
Prosecutor Billhimer commends the diligent efforts of Executive Assistant Prosecutor Michelle Armstrong and Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Kristin Pressman who handled the case on behalf of the State, as well as the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Victim Witness Advocacy Unit, Lakewood Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Lakewood Township Police Department, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force, for their collaborative efforts in connection with this investigation, resulting in Reeves’ apprehension, guilty plea, and lengthy state prison sentence.