Ocean County Man Sent To Prison For Hate Crimes Against Jewish Community

LAKEWOOD – A Manchester man has been sentenced to 480 months in prison for committing a string of crimes and assaults against members of the Orthodox Jewish community, officials said.

Dion Marsh, 29, previously pleaded guilty to five counts of violating the federal Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and one count of carjacking. With respect to the hate crimes violations, Marsh admitted to willfully causing bodily injury to five victims, and attempting to kill and cause injuries with dangerous weapons to four of them, all because they were Jewish.

“The threat from hate-fueled violence is a sad reality that impacts far too many people across our state and our nation,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. “This defendant previously admitted to violently attacking five men, driving a car into four of them, stabbing one of them in the chest, and attempting to kill them simply because they were visibly identifiable as Orthodox Jews. The sentence imposed today holds Marsh accountable for his brutal and hate-filled rampage. We have no higher priority than protecting the civil rights of our New Jersey residents.”

These charges all stem from a series of events that occurred in Lakewood and Jackson on April 8, 2022.

Around 1:18 p.m. near Arlington Avenue and Lincoln Street in Lakewood, Marsh forced a visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man out of his car, assaulting and injuring him in the process. Marsh then drove away in the car.

At 5:20 p.m., Marsh, in a different car, deliberately struck another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man with a car, attempting to kill the victim.

Around 6:06 p.m., Marsh intentionally hit another Orthodox Jewish man with the car, attempting to kill the victim and causing him to suffer several broken bones, officials said.

About an hour later, Marsh was driving the car he had stolen earlier and attempted to kill another Orthodox Jewish man by deliberately hitting him with the car. Marsh then got out of the car and stabbed the man in the chest with a knife, causing the victim to suffer a stab wound and other injuries, officials said.

At 8:23 p.m., Marsh was still driving the stolen car when he hit another Orthodox Jewish man who was walking in nearby Jackson Township, attempting to kill the man and causing him to suffer several broken bones and internal injuries, officials said.

“These victims were targeted by Marsh because of the way they were dressed, which is in accordance with their religious beliefs,” FBI – Newark Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy said. “They have that right in this country. Marsh, however, did not have the right and broke federal law, when he attacked, stabbed and carjacked innocent people. The rise of hate crimes in our communities has become a noxious disease. FBI Newark and our law enforcement partners will aggressively pursue anyone who violates someone’s constitutionally protected civil rights to simply be who they are. We ask anyone who thinks they’ve been a victim, or knows someone who is, to contact us so we can help them.”

In addition to the prison term, Marsh was sentenced to five years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, Newark Division, Red Bank Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark; officers of the Lakewood Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Gregory H. Meyer; officers of the Jackson Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Matthew Kunz; officers of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Michael G. Mastronardy; prosecutors and detectives of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, and officers of the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation leading to the charges.