Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato announced that on March 13th, Sevon Hill, 24, of Toms River and Shakar Barksdale, a.k.a. “Anthony” Barksdale, 24, of Seaside Heights were each charged with one count of Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Murder, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Possession of a Firearm for an Unlawful Purpose, Certain Persons not to Possess a Firearm, three counts of second degree Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Heroin & Cocaine), third degree Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Dangerous Substance and 2 counts of third degree Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance.
According to authorities, on March 5th at approximately 9:19 pm, the Toms River Police Department responded to a 9-1-1 call reporting the discovery of an unresponsive male just outside the doorstep of an apartment located at 26 James Street, the Hampton Gardens apartment complex, located in Toms River.
Patrol officers from the Toms River Police Department responded to the scene to find, a black male, later identified as Steven Stallworth, unresponsive with an apparent gunshot wound. Stallworth was pronounced dead at 10:34 pm, by Dr. Torres of Newark Beth Israel Hospital via telemetry.
A post mortem examination of the decedent’s body at Community Medical Center, the cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound.
The manner of death was ruled a homicide.
During the course of the investigation two suspects were developed, Sevon Hill and Shakar Barksdale, a.k.a. “Anthony” Barksdale. Both suspects were residing at a local hotel prior to the murder. During a search of the suspects’ hotel room on the night of the murder, a large quantity of cocaine and heroin were discovered.
Through further investigation, it was determined that Sevon Hill and Anthony Barksdale entered into a conspiracy and did commit the murder of Steven Stallworth.
During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that the suspects had relocated to a separate local hotel, upon searching that hotel, the suspects were again found to be in possession of quantities of cocaine and heroin, and were charged accordingly.
Police said suspects are currently being held without bail in the Ocean County Jail. Supervising Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Michael R. Weatherstone is prosecuting the case.
Any person with information relevant to this investigation should contact Detective John Carroll of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit (732) 929-2027 ext. 3964 or Detective Lou Santora of the Toms River Police Department (732) 349-0150 ext. 1276.
The public and the media are reminded that criminal charges are accusations.
Each person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until their guilt is established in court.