FREEHOLD - A Long Branch man was sentenced this afternoon to 50 years in prison for the 2014 attempted murder of a Red Bank man, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Anthony Sims, Jr., 28, of Long Branch, was sentenced to 50 years in a New Jersey state prison today by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Thomas F. Scully for the shooting of 31-year-old Perry Veney in Red Bank.
Authorities said on July 11, 2017, after a five-week jury trial, Sims was convicted of first-degree Attempted Murder, second-degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose and second-degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon.
Testimony at trial revealed that on April 9, 2014, Sims traveled to Red Bank where he found Veney seated in the driver’s seat of his car parked in front of his grandmother’s home at 13 Willow Street. Using a semi-automatic handgun, Sims fired 15 rounds into the car where Veney was seated, striking the victim more than ten times.
Medics airlifted Veney to Jersey Shore University Medical Center where he underwent multiple life-saving operations. As a result of a joint investigation conducted by the Red Bank Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Police arrested Sims on April 14, 2014, for the shooting
At the time of his arrest, Sims was under parole supervision for two prior Red Bank attempted manslaughters.
Sims had been released on parole from State Prison on January 13, 2014, less than three months before committing this crime.
As a result of his prior record, Judge Scully imposed an extended term of imprisonment upon Sims. Under the provisions of the No Early Release Act, Sims must serve 85% of his sentence, or 42 years and six months, before he is eligible for release on parole.
Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Martha Nye and Caitlin Sidley prosecuted the case for the State.
John Perrone, Esq., of Long Branch, New Jersey represented Sims.