A gunman who shot three people, killing one, outside of the Top Tier Hookah Lounge on Hooper Avenue in Toms River last month has been identified and charged but remains on the run.
Toms River Police responded to the scene on August 27 around 1:20 am after getting calls that shots were fired in the area, and, once there, officers found three men suffering from gunshot wounds including Nymere Tinsley, 25, of Brick who was pronounced dead at the scene after being shot in the lower abdomen, according to a statement from Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer and Toms River Police Chief Mitch Little.
The two other shooting victims were brought to Jersey Shore University Medical Center where Anthony Miller, 29, of Neptune Township was tended to after suffering a gunshot wound to the stomach and later released, while Jamal Bland, 24, of Asbury Park was shot in the elbow, was treated and later released as well.
Prosecutor Billhimer said that the OCPO Major Crime Unit, Toms River Police Detectives, and the Ocean County Sheriff's Office CSI Unit investigated the shooting and identified 22-year-old Eric Manzanares of Asbury Park as the shooter.
He has now been charged with Murder in the death Nymere Tinsley and charged with Attempted Murder, Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon for shooting all three men.
Manzanares remains on the run and "is considered a fugitive from justice. As such, a warrant for his arrest has been issued and his name has been entered in the National Crime Information Center database."
“Great teamwork has been exhibited by all of the respective law enforcement agencies and officers involved in this investigation," Prosecutor Billhimer said in a written statement. "Our focus now is to find Eric Manzanares and bring him into custody. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Eric Manzanares should contact Detective Denis Mitchell of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027 extension 2476, or Detective Jennifer Grob of the Toms River Township Police Department at 732-349-0150."
This was an incident that was the straw that broke the camel's back.
It was a couple of days after the weekend shooting that the town shut down this hookah bar for several zoning, safety, and code violations — things that they had been warned about before the shooting, according to Mayor Maurice "Mo" Hill.
Their C.O. was revoked and the owners have a hefty fine to pay for the violations.
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