Some tourists alarmed by Seaside Heights stabbing
12 years 11 months ago #1
by riada
Nor but in sleep findeth a cure for care.
Incertainty that once gave scope to dream
Of laughing enterprise and glory untold,
Is now a blackness that no stars redeem.
Some tourists alarmed by Seaside Heights stabbing was created by riada
SEASIDE HEIGHTS — Tom and Holly Kapish were hoping to spend a relaxing holiday weekend in Seaside Heights. But after a violent incident on the Boardwalk Monday, the couple from Mountain Top, Pa., says this visit to the popular Shore town will be their last.
"I mean, it was scary here last night," Holly, 26, said today. "We remember coming here as kids with our families and it wasn't anything like this.
"It felt like gang territory," Tom, 35, said.
Seaside Heights police are not calling Monday evening’s stabbing a gang incident, but witnesses who saw the incident in front of the 3 Brothers From Italy pizzeria — just a few steps north of Sheridan Avenue — called it just that, with a red-shirted group of men jawing with a blue-shirted group of men until one pulled out a knife shortly after 8 p.m.
A 28-year-old Ewing Township man, whose name was not released, was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune with a stab wound to the chest. He was in stable condition today.
Desean Clark, 30, of Trenton, remained in Ocean County jail in lieu of $200,000 bail, charged with aggravated assault and two weapon possession charges. Five others were charged with disorderly conduct.
Meawhile, the trail of the blood on the boardwalk today served as a grim reminder of how a sunny and profitable Memorial Day weekend had gone awry.
Nine days earlier, a boardwalk employee from Point Pleasant was stabbed in the back, allegedly by a Seaside Heights man after a verbal confrontation near Marathon Steaks on the same Sheridan Avenue block, authorities said.
With Seaside Heights enjoying a financial boon the past two summers thanks to the popularity of MTV’s "Jersey Shore" program, some residents and employees are observing the two ugly incidents to start the season and asking whether there are enough police to keep up with the growing number of young visitors.
Seaside Heights police Chief Tommy Boyd says there are.
The force has 45 full-time, year-round officers, with another 100 Class 1 officers (who don't carry weapons and cannot arrest) and Class 2 officers (who do have weapons and can arrest while on duty) added for the summer season. The borough, Boyd said, also gets assistance from New Jersey State Police, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s office in the summer.
"You’re talking about a town that is a mile long and a half-mile wide," he said. "It’s condensed and when you have so many people coming down and 22 businesses with liquor licenses, some things are going to happen. But we have enough people for what we need."
Boyd said there were over 200 arrests made over the four-day weekend — a high number, but not over-the-top for holiday weekend with good weather.
"Seaside is a unique town and now because of MTV, everyone wants to connect the dots and say there's too much going on here," he said. "But it's always been this way. (Monday) night’s incident was just a brush-by, where someone says something to someone else and it escalates. In the 80s we had a gang problem, but not now."
Boyd has his backers. Brett Kinstler, owner of the Beach Paradise sundries shop right next door to 3 Brothers, said Memorial Day weekend only "brings the influx of riff raff."
"You come here any other weekend in July or August and you’ll never see what we saw last night," he said.
Patty Hershey, a 33-year-resident of Seaside Heights and owner of Arcade Marketplace on the boardwalk, said police are "very proactive" in diffusing possible situations by keeping an eye on large congregations of kids on the boardwalk or in the streets.
"They don't wait for something to happen," she said. "Their policy is: Come here, have fun, but don't be disruptive or cause problems, because you will be arrested."
But some residents are alarmed by what they see on the boardwalk regularly.
"I wouldn’t let my children come here if I had any," said Jim Murphy, who works the games at an arcade. "Thousands of kids come here on vacation and so many of them leave here on probation. That family atmosphere is not what it used to be.
"I think the cops are outnumbered now. It's not their fault at all. They just need more help," he said.
Boyd acknowledged kids and young adults have been "more brazen" in recent years. But he said that problem should not be exclusive to Seaside Heights.
"That has to do with our society as a whole," he said. "If they don't show respect at home, how are they going to have respect on the streets?"
Justin Renny said he was a witness to Monday night's stabbing, which witnesses said involved 20 to 25 people. The regular Seaside Heights visitor from Montville said the incident brought "even more unnecessary drama to this boardwalk."
"There's enough police enforcement walking around," Renny, 21, said. "But they can't be everywhere."
Robert Soash, an airbrush artist at Beach Paradise, was also a witness to the incident. He said he’ll remember his eyes watering from the Mace that wafted over to his store, a couple of young women pulling out their cell phones to video record the incident and the off-putting feeling that it could have been much worse.
"Look, they could have had guns," he said. "There’s a real safety concern. You hope officers are around to handle it, but things can escalate quickly."
"I mean, it was scary here last night," Holly, 26, said today. "We remember coming here as kids with our families and it wasn't anything like this.
"It felt like gang territory," Tom, 35, said.
Seaside Heights police are not calling Monday evening’s stabbing a gang incident, but witnesses who saw the incident in front of the 3 Brothers From Italy pizzeria — just a few steps north of Sheridan Avenue — called it just that, with a red-shirted group of men jawing with a blue-shirted group of men until one pulled out a knife shortly after 8 p.m.
A 28-year-old Ewing Township man, whose name was not released, was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune with a stab wound to the chest. He was in stable condition today.
Desean Clark, 30, of Trenton, remained in Ocean County jail in lieu of $200,000 bail, charged with aggravated assault and two weapon possession charges. Five others were charged with disorderly conduct.
Meawhile, the trail of the blood on the boardwalk today served as a grim reminder of how a sunny and profitable Memorial Day weekend had gone awry.
Nine days earlier, a boardwalk employee from Point Pleasant was stabbed in the back, allegedly by a Seaside Heights man after a verbal confrontation near Marathon Steaks on the same Sheridan Avenue block, authorities said.
With Seaside Heights enjoying a financial boon the past two summers thanks to the popularity of MTV’s "Jersey Shore" program, some residents and employees are observing the two ugly incidents to start the season and asking whether there are enough police to keep up with the growing number of young visitors.
Seaside Heights police Chief Tommy Boyd says there are.
The force has 45 full-time, year-round officers, with another 100 Class 1 officers (who don't carry weapons and cannot arrest) and Class 2 officers (who do have weapons and can arrest while on duty) added for the summer season. The borough, Boyd said, also gets assistance from New Jersey State Police, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s office in the summer.
"You’re talking about a town that is a mile long and a half-mile wide," he said. "It’s condensed and when you have so many people coming down and 22 businesses with liquor licenses, some things are going to happen. But we have enough people for what we need."
Boyd said there were over 200 arrests made over the four-day weekend — a high number, but not over-the-top for holiday weekend with good weather.
"Seaside is a unique town and now because of MTV, everyone wants to connect the dots and say there's too much going on here," he said. "But it's always been this way. (Monday) night’s incident was just a brush-by, where someone says something to someone else and it escalates. In the 80s we had a gang problem, but not now."
Boyd has his backers. Brett Kinstler, owner of the Beach Paradise sundries shop right next door to 3 Brothers, said Memorial Day weekend only "brings the influx of riff raff."
"You come here any other weekend in July or August and you’ll never see what we saw last night," he said.
Patty Hershey, a 33-year-resident of Seaside Heights and owner of Arcade Marketplace on the boardwalk, said police are "very proactive" in diffusing possible situations by keeping an eye on large congregations of kids on the boardwalk or in the streets.
"They don't wait for something to happen," she said. "Their policy is: Come here, have fun, but don't be disruptive or cause problems, because you will be arrested."
But some residents are alarmed by what they see on the boardwalk regularly.
"I wouldn’t let my children come here if I had any," said Jim Murphy, who works the games at an arcade. "Thousands of kids come here on vacation and so many of them leave here on probation. That family atmosphere is not what it used to be.
"I think the cops are outnumbered now. It's not their fault at all. They just need more help," he said.
Boyd acknowledged kids and young adults have been "more brazen" in recent years. But he said that problem should not be exclusive to Seaside Heights.
"That has to do with our society as a whole," he said. "If they don't show respect at home, how are they going to have respect on the streets?"
Justin Renny said he was a witness to Monday night's stabbing, which witnesses said involved 20 to 25 people. The regular Seaside Heights visitor from Montville said the incident brought "even more unnecessary drama to this boardwalk."
"There's enough police enforcement walking around," Renny, 21, said. "But they can't be everywhere."
Robert Soash, an airbrush artist at Beach Paradise, was also a witness to the incident. He said he’ll remember his eyes watering from the Mace that wafted over to his store, a couple of young women pulling out their cell phones to video record the incident and the off-putting feeling that it could have been much worse.
"Look, they could have had guns," he said. "There’s a real safety concern. You hope officers are around to handle it, but things can escalate quickly."
Nor but in sleep findeth a cure for care.
Incertainty that once gave scope to dream
Of laughing enterprise and glory untold,
Is now a blackness that no stars redeem.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
12 years 10 months ago #2
by DeadTrish
Replied by DeadTrish on topic Some tourists alarmed by Seaside Heights stabbing
Maybe the Jersey shore cast won't film there anymore then 
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
12 years 10 months ago #3
by riada
Nor but in sleep findeth a cure for care.
Incertainty that once gave scope to dream
Of laughing enterprise and glory untold,
Is now a blackness that no stars redeem.
Replied by riada on topic Some tourists alarmed by Seaside Heights stabbing
SEASIDE PARK – A 27-year-old Trenton man has died as a result of injuries suffered in a fight that occurred on Farragut Avenue with two Paterson men who will now be charged with murder.
Kamau Keita, 27, of Trenton died Sunday morning at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune from injuries suffered in the fight that occurred in the early morning hours of May 28, said Deputy Chief Michael Mohel, of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
Mohel said two plain-clothes Seaside Park police officers came upon the street fight involving Keita and two other Paterson men: David Armfield and Marquis McRae, both 19.
Both men were arrested and initially charged with aggravated assault and held in the Ocean County Jail, Toms River, with bond set at $50,000 each, with no 10 percent option, Mohel said.
With Keita’s death, their bail has been raised to $500,000 each with no 10 percent option by Superior Court Judge Stephanie Wauters, Mohel said. Both will be charged with murder, he said.
Details of the fight are being withheld pending results of an autopsy.
Kamau Keita, 27, of Trenton died Sunday morning at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune from injuries suffered in the fight that occurred in the early morning hours of May 28, said Deputy Chief Michael Mohel, of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
Mohel said two plain-clothes Seaside Park police officers came upon the street fight involving Keita and two other Paterson men: David Armfield and Marquis McRae, both 19.
Both men were arrested and initially charged with aggravated assault and held in the Ocean County Jail, Toms River, with bond set at $50,000 each, with no 10 percent option, Mohel said.
With Keita’s death, their bail has been raised to $500,000 each with no 10 percent option by Superior Court Judge Stephanie Wauters, Mohel said. Both will be charged with murder, he said.
Details of the fight are being withheld pending results of an autopsy.
Nor but in sleep findeth a cure for care.
Incertainty that once gave scope to dream
Of laughing enterprise and glory untold,
Is now a blackness that no stars redeem.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
12 years 9 months ago #4
by riada
Nor but in sleep findeth a cure for care.
Incertainty that once gave scope to dream
Of laughing enterprise and glory untold,
Is now a blackness that no stars redeem.
Replied by riada on topic Some tourists alarmed by Seaside Heights stabbing
Police close Seaside Heights boardwalk after fights erupt
(07/05/11) SEASIDE HEIGHTS - Officials closed down the Seaside Heights boardwalk near Dupont Avenue last night after fighting and violence erupted following a fireworks display.
Investigators say sporadic fights started at about 10:30 p.m. after the fireworks, and escalated closer to midnight, prompting them to close the boardwalk at around 1 a.m. and send everyone home.
Police say more than 60 people were arrested for fighting, drugs, and disorderly persons offenses.
Justin Greer, who worked the late shift at a game stand in the middle of the mayhem, says he believes alcohol played a major role in the incidents.
(07/05/11) SEASIDE HEIGHTS - Officials closed down the Seaside Heights boardwalk near Dupont Avenue last night after fighting and violence erupted following a fireworks display.
Investigators say sporadic fights started at about 10:30 p.m. after the fireworks, and escalated closer to midnight, prompting them to close the boardwalk at around 1 a.m. and send everyone home.
Police say more than 60 people were arrested for fighting, drugs, and disorderly persons offenses.
Justin Greer, who worked the late shift at a game stand in the middle of the mayhem, says he believes alcohol played a major role in the incidents.
Nor but in sleep findeth a cure for care.
Incertainty that once gave scope to dream
Of laughing enterprise and glory untold,
Is now a blackness that no stars redeem.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.