An Ocean County man, who pled guilty in a violent attack spree targeting Orthodox Jewish men, that happened on April 8, 2022, has been sentenced to serve the next four decades in prison.
On Wednesday, Dion Marsh, 29, of Manchester, NJ, received the 40 year sentence after pleading guilty to charges of violating the hate crime prevention act and carjacking, following a rampage in and around Lakewood, NJ, in which carjacked an Orthodox Jewish man before running over several other Orthodox Jewish men with his own vehicle and with the vehicle he carjacked.
“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 Sellinger for the District of New Jersey said in a statement on Marsh's sentencing. “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.”
In a statement, officials noted that, in pleading to the charges, 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 the men were Jewish.
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According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, officials noted that Marsh focused the attacks on, what police officials called "visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish" men.
The first attack, officials said, began at at 1:18 p.m. on April 8, 2022, when Marsh forced a visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man out of his car in Lakewood, and assaulted and injured him in the process.
Marsh then took control of the man’s car and drove away.
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Then, at about 5:20 p.m., officials said Marsh was in Lakewood driving a different car when he deliberately struck another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man with the vehicle, in an attempt to kill the man.
Less than an hour later, at about 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.
But, in another attack at about 6:55 p.m., Marsh, behind the wheel of the vehicle he had stolen in an attack earlier in the day, attempted to kill another visibly identifiable Orthodox Jewish man.
Officials said that Marsh used the stolen vehicle to deliberately strike the man, who was walking in Lakewood.
After that crash, 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.
Then, in a final attack at about 8:23 p.m. that same day, 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 Township, attempting to kill the man and causing him to suffer several broken bones and internal injuries.
“Enough is enough – hate-fueled attacks on the Orthodox Jewish community are abhorrent, unlawful and contrary to our values as Americans” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a statement. “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.”
Along with a prison sentence, Marsh was also ordered to serve five years of supervision upon his release from prison.
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