On a Saturday night in October 2019, a tragic series of events unfolded at a home in Manalapan, New Jersey, leading to the death of Narciso Rodriguez-Corona, a 43-year-old male. Known to his friends and family as Nelson, he was at a residence on Fawn Run when the violence erupted. Police first received a call around 9:30 p.m. reporting a fight at the address. Minutes later, a second call confirmed a shooting had occurred. When officers arrived, they found Rodriguez-Corona suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound. He was rushed to a local hospital where he was ultimately pronounced dead. His family, devastated by the sudden loss, said he was shot twice and murdered by a complete stranger.
The investigation that followed painted a picture of a burglary attempt that turned fatal. Three individuals from Jackson, Gerard A. Grimes Jr., 23, Zoey S. Monte, 20, and Tyler Martucci, had arrived at the Manalapan home armed with a handgun.
While Monte and Martucci remained outside, Grimes attempted to force his way into the residence. The occupants of the home were alerted to his presence and managed to prevent him from entering after a brief confrontation. This did not end the matter, however, as a second encounter took place nearby shortly thereafter. It was during this second confrontation that Grimes fired the fatal shots, striking Rodriguez-Corona.
Following the shooting, the trio fled the area in a vehicle. A search was initiated, and a few hours later, police attempted to pull over Grimes' vehicle. He refused to stop, leading to a pursuit. After eventually fleeing the car, Grimes was discovered hiding in the backyard of a nearby home and taken into custody. His companions, Monte and Martucci, who were also in the vehicle, were arrested at the time of the stop. All three were subsequently indicted for their roles in the incident. Grimes faced the most severe charges, including first-degree murder and felony murder. Monte and Martucci were indicted on charges that included burglary and conspiracy to commit burglary.
