A Freehold Borough man who shot two people at the Metropolitan Cafe on East Main Street in 2014 will spend 70-years in prison after being sentenced by a superior court judge, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni.

Timothy Parrish, 33, was found guilty in October of several charges including attempted murder.

The jury returned guilty verdicts on charges of second degree Aggravated Assault, first degree Attempted Murder, second degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, first degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and second degree Certain Persons Not to Have Weapons.

The conviction comes as a result of a joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and Freehold Borough Police Department.

Police said that Parrish had chased 40-year old Roberto Diaz and 35-year-old Frank Lavacca down an alleyway after stalking them prior to both victims being shot and suffering life-threatening injuries on December 27, 2014.

The victims were both rushed to Jersey Shore University Medical Center where they underwent emergency surgery and remained for several days.

After interviewing witnesses and reviewing video surveillance, police learned that Parrish shot both victims with a loaded firearm as he chased them through the alleyway.

At his trial, jurors viewed video footage showing that the attack carried out by Parrish was unprovoked.

Parrish and his two victims had no interactions during the night but the video footage showed that he stalked his victims before and after he followed the two unarmed men in the alleyway.

After a brief verbal interaction, the victims, who did not know Parrish, thought the defendant left the alleyway.

Unbeknownst to them, Prosecutors said that Parrish instead hid behind a bush and ambushed them on their way to the parking lot.

Lavacca and Diaz then turned around and ran back to the Metropolitan Café while Parrish fired shots.

At the trial, Parrish was sentenced by the judge to an aggregate sentence of 70 years in prison.

The court also ordered that Parrish be required to serve a minimum of 58 years in state prison before he is eligible for parole.

In doing so, the court granted the State’s motion to impose an extended term of incarceration upon Parrish as a result of his prior violent record with a firearm.

At the time of the shootings, Parrish was on parole after release from state prison on a 2004 conviction.

In that case, Parrish shot an 18-year-old male in a church, leaving the victim paralyzed.

He told detectives that he shot the victim because he was from out of town, and admitted he felt nothing when he shot the young male.

“Mr. Parrish is a repeat offender who was out on parole when he stalked his two victims like prey without provocation. Judge Oxley’s sentence puts this violent man behind bars for much of the next six decades, where he can no longer harm the citizens of Freehold Borough and Monmouth County,” Prosecutor Gramiccioni said.

The case was prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Lindsay Ashwal.

Parrish is represented by Albert Kapin, Esq., of West Orange.

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