Dion Marsh, a 29-year-old from Manchester, New Jersey, was sentenced on Wednesday to 40 years in prison for a series of violent antisemitic attacks on ultra-Orthodox Jews in Lakewood and the surrounding area. Marsh pleaded guilty to six counts, including five hate crimes and one count of carjacking.
Marsh attacked his victims after recognizing his victims as ultra-Orthodox Jews. He ran them over with a vehicle and attempted to stab them to death. The victims suffered various injuries, including broken bones and stab wounds. U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said that the defendant's actions were "a brutal and hate-filled rampage," and that the sentence holds him accountable for his crimes.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stressed, "Hate-fueled attacks on the Orthodox Jewish community are abhorrent, unlawful and contrary to our values as Americans." She added the Department of Justice will continue to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of hate crimes.
In April 2022, Marsh committed several violent attacks: In the first incident, Lakewood police officers were called to the Martin Luther King area following a report of a carjacking. After approaching a 2016 Toyota Camry, the defendant pulled the ultra-Orthodox driver out of the vehicle, repeatedly punched him in the face, and fled the area in the car. The injured man was taken to the hospital by United Hatzalah volunteers.
In the second incident, the Marsh attempted to hijack another vehicle driven by an ultra-Orthodox man. He assaulted the driver but failed to steal the car. The third incident took place when Lakewood police received a report of a pedestrian hit by a vehicle at the intersection of Central Avenue and Carlton Avenue.
Officers found an ultra-Orthodox Jewish pedestrian who had been struck by a car. The injured man was transported by United Hatzalah volunteers to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, in serious but stable condition.
The fourth incident happened when Lakewood police were called following a report of a stabbing near Pine Circle Drive. Officers found an ultra-Orthodox Jewish victim with a stab wound to his chest. He was transported by United Hatzalah volunteers to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he was also hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
In the fifth incident, Jackson City police officers were called after a report of a pedestrian hit by a vehicle in the area. Responding officers determined that the victim had been struck by the same vehicle involved in the earlier carjacking in Lakewood that day. The victim was taken by United Hatzalah volunteers to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, also listed in serious but stable condition.
An investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, the Major Crimes Unit, and Lakewood Township Police determined that Marsh was the perpetrator behind all these attacks.