Manchester man sentenced to 40 years in prison for attacks on Orthodox Jewish community

Erik Larsen, Asbury Park Press
·3 min read
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TRENTON - A Manchester man was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison on Tuesday for a series of violent assaults on members of the Orthodox Jewish community in and around Lakewood, said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.

Dion Marsh, 29, had previously pleaded guilty to five counts of violating the U.S. Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and one count of carjacking, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.

Dion Marsh, a Manchester man facing multiple charges including attempted murder and terrorism in a 2022 crime spree targeting Hasidic Jews in Lakewood, pleads guilty before Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan. Toms River, NJ Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Dion Marsh, a Manchester man facing multiple charges including attempted murder and terrorism in a 2022 crime spree targeting Hasidic Jews in Lakewood, pleads guilty before Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan. Toms River, NJ Wednesday, January 24, 2024

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,” said the statement from Sellinger and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

In January, Marsh also pleaded guilty to state charges for the same crimes before state Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan in Toms River.

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“The threat from hate-fueled violence is a sad reality that impacts far too many people across our state and our nation,” 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.”

According to court documents:

  • At 1:18 p.m. on April 8, 2022, Marsh forced a visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man out of his car in Lakewood, assaulting and injuring him in the process. Marsh took control of the man’s car and drove away. A surveillance video in the area captured Marsh arriving in the area prior to the carjacking and assault.

  • At 5:20 p.m., Marsh was in Lakewood driving a different car when he deliberately struck another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man with the vehicle, attempting to kill the victim.

  • At 6:06 p.m., Marsh then used that second vehicle to deliberately strike another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man, attempting to kill the victim and causing him to suffer several broken bones.

  • At 6:55 p.m., Marsh, once again driving the vehicle that he had stolen from the first victim, attempted to kill another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man. Marsh used the stolen vehicle to deliberately strike the man, who was walking in Lakewood. Marsh got out of the vehicle and stabbed the man in the chest with a knife, causing the victim to suffer a stab wound and other injuries.

  • At 8:23 p.m., Marsh, still driving the vehicle that he had stolen from the first victim, used it to deliberately strike another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man who was walking in nearby Jackson, attempting to kill the man and causing him to suffer several broken bones and internal injuries.

U.S. District Court Judge Zahid N. Quraishi also made Marsh subject to five years of supervised release when he is scheduled to be released from federal prison in the 2060s. There is no parole in the federal Bureau of Prisons.

“Enough is enough — hate-fueled attacks on the Orthodox Jewish community are abhorrent, unlawful and contrary to our values as Americans” Clarke said. “As we aggressively work to confront and eradicate antisemitic violence, we recognize the unique vulnerabilities faced by Orthodox Jews who are often targeted because of religious clothing and yarmulkes. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute senseless hate crimes and we will protect people exercising their constitutional right to practice their religion.”

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Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Joseph Gribko, deputy chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Civil Rights Division, prosecuted the case against Marsh with assistance from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Marsh was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Adam Axel in Trenton.

Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Manchester NJ man imprisoned for assaults on Orthodox Jewish community