A 24-year-old Asbury Park man pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree Aggravated Manslaughter, admitting that he shot and killed 20-year-old Tyrell Howard on August 16, 2013, on Washington Avenue in Asbury Park, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
The defendant, Bryan Burford, pleaded guilty before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Richard W. English.
He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge English on May 18, 2017.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, the State is recommending that Burford receives 18 years in New Jersey State Prison, subject to the No Early Release Act, which requires that defendant serves at least 85% of the sentence before he is eligible for release.
Burford will also be on parole for five years once he is released. The plea was made in consultation and agreement with the victim’s family.
At approximately 10:16 p.m. on August 16, 2013, officers from the Asbury Park Police Department responded to the area of Buildings 3 and 4 of the Washington Village Apartment Complex on Washington Avenue after receiving “911” telephone calls regarding a shooting.
Upon arrival, police located 20 year-old Tyrell Howard, who had sustained several gunshot wounds. Howard, of Asbury Park, was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center where, despite life-saving efforts, he was pronounced dead at 10:40 p.m. that evening.
A joint investigation involving the Asbury Park Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office was immediately launched into the shooting death of the victim.
As a result of the investigation, on October 6, 2013, Bryan Burford, then 21, of Asbury Park, was charged with Murder, Possession of a Firearm for an Unlawful Purpose and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.
Defendant was later indicted by a Monmouth County Grand Jury on June 23, 2014.