BRICK TOWNSHIP, NJ – Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on October 30, 2020, Craig Menth, 28, of Barnegat, was sentenced by the Honorable Michael T. Collins, J.S.C., to five years New Jersey State Prison in connection with his previously entered guilty plea to Knowingly Leaving the Scene of a Motor Vehicle Accident Resulting in Death in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-5.1. Menth pled guilty to the offense before Judge Collins on January 27, 2020.
On September 1, 2019, the Brick Township Police Department responded to the area of Drum Point Road for a report of a hit-and-run motor vehicle incident. Responding Officers found that a pedestrian, Robert Berenger, 28, of Brick, had been fatally struck by a motor vehicle that fled the scene. A thorough investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit and Brick Township Police identified Menth as the driver and owner of the vehicle that struck and killed Mr. Berenger. Menth was arrested without incident at his residence in Barnegat on September 2, 2019.
Prosecutor Billhimer acknowledges the fine work of Senior Assistant Prosecutor Robert Cassidy who handled the case on behalf of the State. Prosecutor Billhimer likewise commends the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Victim Witness Advocacy Unit, Brick Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their collaborative efforts relative to this investigation, ultimately resulting in Menth’s guilty plea and five-year state prison sentence.