An Asbury Park man has pleaded guilty in connection with a fatal shooting that left one person dead and two others injured at a Toms River hookah lounge in 2022.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on February 27, 2026, Eric Manzanares, 26, pled guilty to one count of Aggravated Manslaughter and two counts of Aggravated Assault before Judge Guy P. Ryan, P.J.Cr.P.

The charges stem from an incident that occurred around 1:20 a.m. on August 27, 2022, at Top Tier Hookah Lounge on Hooper Avenue in Toms River. Responding officers found three victims suffering from gunshot wounds.

Nymere Tinsley was shot in the lower abdomen and transported to Community Medical Center, where he was later pronounced deceased. Two other victims — Anthony Miller, 30, of Neptune Township, and Jamal Bland, 26, of Asbury Park — were transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Both were treated for their injuries and released.

Authorities said a joint investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Toms River Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit determined that Manzanares was responsible for the shootings.

Manzanares was initially charged on the day of the incident, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was later apprehended on April 7, 2023, in Prince William County and held at the Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center before being extradited to Ocean County on January 24, 2024. He has remained in the Ocean County Jail since that time.

At sentencing, scheduled for April 24, 2026, prosecutors will seek a 23-year New Jersey State Prison sentence for the aggravated manslaughter charge, along with 10 years for each aggravated assault charge. The sentences are expected to run concurrently and will be subject to the No Early Release Act.