Jackson man sentenced to 20 years in prison for aggravated assault and firearm possession

TOMS RIVER, N.J. – A Jackson Township man was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in state prison for aggravated assault stemming from a 2023 car crash and an unrelated firearm charge, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.

Charles Sharkey, Jr., 35, was sentenced by Judge Dina M. Vicari to 10 years in prison for aggravated assault related to a crash in Toms River on March 23, 2023. The sentence is subject to New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, requiring Sharkey to serve 85% of the term before being eligible for parole. Sharkey was also sentenced to 10 years, with five years of parole ineligibility, for being a “certain person not to possess a firearm” after a March 12, 2023, incident in Jackson Township. The sentences will run consecutively.

In the March 23 crash, Sharkey ran a red light at the intersection of Route 70 and Massachusetts Avenue while driving a stolen Dodge Ram 1500. He struck multiple vehicles, including a Subaru Impreza carrying a driver and three juveniles, one of whom sustained serious injuries requiring hospitalization and rehabilitation. Sharkey was found to have been under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the crash and was using a cellphone while driving erratically.

Eleven days earlier, on March 12, Jackson Township police found Sharkey slumped over in a vehicle on North County Line Road. He was arrested for driving under the influence, and a search revealed he was in possession of a .22 caliber handgun. Sharkey was released at the time under New Jersey Bail Reform policies but was later arrested again following the Toms River crash.

Laboratory results confirmed Sharkey’s methamphetamine use during the crash, and investigators determined that he was driving with a suspended license and had two active warrants for his arrest at the time.

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