Brick Man Charged With Attempted Murder in Stabbing

Handcuffs (Shorebeat File Photo/ banspy/ Flickr)

A Brick Township man has been charged with first degree attempted murder as well as weapons charges following an altercation that ended in a stabbing Tuesday.

The incident, in Long Branch, was called in to police at 9:39 a.m. The suspect, identified as Michael Smith, 43, was said to have stabbed a 34-year-old Brick woman. The victim was not identified by name.

According to prosecutors, Long Branch Police Officer Robert Korn responded to the call and found Smith “swinging and grabbing at the victim, who was lying on the ground,” a statement said.

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Korn was able to pull Smith off of the victim and place him under arrest, the statement said, adding that Smith was armed with two knives during the assault and had stabbed the victim multiple times in the chest and head. The victim was taken to a hospital where she is listed in stable condition.

If convicted of attempted murder, Smith faces 20 years in a New Jersey state prison without parole. Both the Murder and Attempted Murder charges are subject to the provisions of the “No Early Release Act,” requiring him to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole. He would also be under parole supervision for five years following his release from state prison.

If convicted of the second degree weapons offenses, Smith faces a sentence up to ten years in prison on each charge.

Smith, who is currently being lodged in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Feb. 11, 2019 in Superior Court with a detention hearing to immediately follow.

A photo of Smith was not released by authorities.