FREEHOLD – A Monmouth County jury returned a guilty verdict for an Asbury Park man charged with shooting at a city police officer in 2015, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Officials say, Dante Allen, 24, was convicted on charges of first degree Attempted Murder, second-degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, and third-degree Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Cocaine).
According to officials, Allen is facing a sentence of up to 20 years in a New Jersey state prison, subject to the provisions of the “No Early Release Act” (NERA) requiring him to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole. He would also be under parole supervision for five years following his release from state prison.
He is scheduled to return for sentencing on June 21, 2019, before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Dennis R. O’Brien.
Allen could face an additional sentence of five to ten years in prison for the second-degree weapons offense, and an additional sentence of three to five years in jail on the third-degree drug offense.
Officials say, at trial, it was revealed, that on November 4, 2015, at approximately 7:15 p.m., Officer Terrence McGhee observed Allen at the intersection of Boston Way and Atkins Avenue. Upon seeing Officer McGhee, Allen pulled the hood of his hoodie over his head and walked away from the officer, while clutching something on his left side, under his sweatshirt.
Officer McGhee watched Allen as he walked down the street, continuing to clutch the item on his left side unnaturally. Officer McGhee approached Allen at the intersection of Springwood and Atkins Avenues and asked to speak with him.
During the brief exchange, he discovered that the item Allen was clutching was, in fact, a firearm. Immediately after Officer McGhee located the gun, Allen fled on Springwood Avenue into an open field.
As Allen entered the field, he pulled out the gun, turned and faced the officer and shot directly at him, luckily missing the officer.