TOMS RIVER, NJ – Toms River school board member Ashley Lamb alleges Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer is stalking her Facebook profile. On Monday, Lamb was on hand at the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee hearing regarding Billhimer’s reappointment by Governor Phil Murphy in Trenton.
Lamb said Billhimer’s stalking began after her election loss to Ocean County Commissioner Virginia Haines in the 2022 GOP primary election. She connected Billhimer to a political investigation into her husband, Lavallette Police Officer Justin Lamb, a councilman in Toms River.
Lamb said that the politically funded witch hunt turned into a criminal probe of Lamb and her husband by Prosecutor Billhimer, and he began using an alternate alias to befriend her and ‘stalk’ her on Facebook.
“After my loss in the primary election and having further dealings with Mr. Billhimer, it is my belief that he saw this as an opportunity for himself,” she said.
Lamb noted that Billhimer represented Officer Lamb through his private practice before becoming a prosecutor and, therefore, was conflicted out of any investigations related to the lambs, as directed by the Office of the Attorney General.
“At the request of certain individuals, he began targeting my husband in his position as a police officer,” she claimed. “However, I was his target.”
Lamb said a profile named “Bradley Daniel” was used to hide his real name and identity.
In a 2022 Facebook post, Lamb said she and Billhimer were “good friends” as she presented him with an award honoring his induction into the Toms River Hall of Fame. During that time, her husband was being investigated over allegations made related to his position as a police officer in Lavalette and his residency as it pertains to his position on the Toms River Township Council. She did not know at the time that Billhimer’s office was investigating her husband.
“Bradley Billhimer began watching items that I posted on my Facebook page and I became uncomfortable, so I began taking screenshots of Mr. Billhimer stalking my Facebook page during the day when he was presumably at work.”
Lamb did not state publicly which proof, in any, she had to back up the allegation.
She said a photo of herself and some female friends was used to identify her friends, and that was used to interview a roommate, she said. She said the incident happened after Billhimer was instructed by the Attorney General’s Office to be “walled off” from the investigation into her husband.
“Bradley Billhimer continued to stalk my Facebook page,” she said.
She also claimed Billhimer ordered Ocean County detectives to canvas her neighborhood to ask questions about her. The investigation was eventually transferred to the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office. That office found no wrongdoings on behalf of the Lambs and the case was closed.
Lamb said Billhimer continued to harass her by opening a new investigation into her family. She asked the committee to reappoint Billhimer to investigate her claim before reappointing him, accusing him of prosecutorial misconduct.
Billhimer admitted the Bradley Daniel account was his own account but denied using it to stalk Mrs. Lamb.
“I don’t even know what that means, stalking somebody on social media,” he said. “I’ve never stalked anyone on social media or in real life. Apparently, we are friends on social media. I’m sure we won’t be after today and that’s fine.”
Although he is a county prosecutor who oversees cyberharassment and cyberstalking cases regularly, Billhimer said he is not familiar with either.
“If somebody has looked at her page, I don’t know how any of that actually works,” Billhimer said. “I mean, it’s social media. I don’t know. You’re putting things out there for the public to see. I do have a Facebook page. It’s probably not a good idea as the chief law enforcement officer in the county. It’s a personal page. It has nothing to do with my professional life. I don’t mix the two. That’s mostly pictures of my kids and my wife.”
He also confirmed that he is ‘walled off’ from the Lamb investigation saying the claims that he is orchestrating a political investigation is untrue.
“There seems to be some political undertones as to what is happening here,” he said.
The board unanimously approved to send Billhimer’s nomination to a legislative vote.
You can listen to the full audio of the meeting here, starting at 2:20:00.