FREEHOLD – A Long Branch man was sentenced this afternoon for the 2011 murder of an Asbury Park man, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Kalil Griffin, 30, of Long Branch, was sentenced to 50 years in a New Jersey state prison today by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Richard W. English following his conviction in October 2015, for the Feb. 18, 2011 murder of 45-year-old Ronald Chisholm inside his apartment at 312 Second Ave. in Asbury Park.
Following a five-week trial, prosecuted by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Huth before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge John T. Mullaney, Jr., Griffin was convicted of first degree Felony Murder, first degree Armed Robbery, third degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and third degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose.
Testimony at trial revealed, Griffin and Joshua Simmons paid a visit to Chisholm on the evening of Feb. 18, 2011, for the purpose of robbing the victim of cash using the guise of buying drugs. Simmons waited outside the apartment as a lookout while Griffin was let into Chisolm’s apartment.
After a few minutes Simmons heard two gunshots and then Griffin called him into the apartment. Chisolm was dead on the floor with two bullet wounds to the face. The two began to ransack the apartment looking for money/drugs and came up empty. The two men eventually left the apartment with Chisolm’s laptop computer.
Chisholm’s lifeless body was discovered three days after his death during a welfare check by the Asbury Park Police Department.
A thorough investigation conducted by Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Bureau and Asbury Park Police Department led to the arrest of Griffin and Simmons.
Simmons was tried in January 2015, and acquitted of all charges except fourth degree Theft of the computer.