Freehold, NJ — A Brooklyn man has been convicted in a 2023 shooting that left two people wounded inside a Freehold home, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Friday.
Damian Bell, 51, was found guilty on multiple counts of aggravated assault and weapons charges following a two-week trial before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley. He now faces up to 60 years in state prison when sentenced on Thursday, October 16.
The violence unfolded on the morning of August 25, 2023, when Freehold Borough police responded to a Center Street residence around 7:14 a.m. and found a man and woman suffering from gunshot wounds. Both were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Investigators determined Bell had argued with the male victim, a fight that escalated when Bell retrieved a handgun from upstairs and fired on both the man and a woman who attempted to flee while carrying her young child. Bell fled before officers arrived.
After months on the run, Bell was tracked down and arrested in Rowan County, North Carolina, in March 2024.
Jurors convicted him on two counts of second-degree aggravated assault, along with three related weapons charges, including one first-degree and two second-degree offenses.
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Key Points
- Damian Bell, 51, of Brooklyn, convicted for shooting two people in a Freehold home in 2023.
- Both victims survived after being hospitalized with gunshot wounds.
- Bell faces up to 60 years in prison when sentenced on October 16.
The courtroom verdict closes a case that began with a violent morning confrontation on Center Street.