
Two Ocean County men have admitted their roles in a 2024 shooting incident in Toms River in which a bicyclist was fired upon multiple times but escaped unharmed.
Anthony Zigarelli, 21, of Manchester Township, pleaded guilty on June 1 to Aggravated Assault and being a Certain Person Not to Possess a Weapon. Anthony Ventrice, 19, of Toms River, also pleaded guilty to Aggravated Assault in connection with the same incident.
According to authorities, officers responded to the area of Camino Medio and Camino Verde on May 14, 2024, after receiving multiple 911 calls reporting gunfire. Investigators determined that a man was riding his bicycle through the neighborhood when Ventrice allegedly produced a handgun and fired several shots in his direction. Prosecutors said the pair then entered a vehicle and drove past the victim, at which point Zigarelli allegedly fired additional shots.
Despite the barrage of gunfire, the victim was not struck and suffered no injuries.
Ventrice, who was a juvenile at the time of the incident, was initially charged through the juvenile court system before his case was waived to adult criminal court. He was arrested by Lakewood police on May 22, 2024, and later transferred to the Ocean County Jail in May 2025, where he remains lodged.
Zigarelli was charged on May 28, 2024, and arrested the following day by Toms River police. He has remained in the Ocean County Jail since his arrest.
Both men are scheduled to be sentenced on August 14. Prosecutors will seek a 10-year state prison sentence for Zigarelli on the aggravated assault charge, subject to New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, along with a concurrent five-year sentence for the weapons offense. The state will seek a seven-year prison term for Ventrice, also subject to NERA.
The investigation was conducted by the Toms River Township Police Department with assistance from the Lakewood Township Police Department and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.