Lakewood, NJ - Prosecutor Concluded Assault On Trespasser Was Not A Bias Crime

Lakewood, NJ - The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office has reviewed the investigation of a local man accused of assaulting a 15-year-old boy and has found that township police acted correctly in not filing bias crime charges. Elchonon Zimmerman, 43, remains charged with simple assault, authorities said.

The prosecutor's statement was in response to the Ocean County/Lakewood chapter of the NAACP's contention that the incident constitutes a bias crime.
According to the NAACP, a group of white, wearing attire typical of Orthodox Jews, gathered around the boy, who is black and was trespassing on Mr. Zimmerman's property, was uttered racial slurs. They also said he did not belong in a predominantly Jewish section of Lakewood, the boy's family has said.

In a three-paragraph statement, county Prosecutor Thomas F. Kelaher said that "although racist statements were apparently made by unknown parties in a crowd that formed, these statements would not elevate the incident to a bias crime as to the conduct of Elchonon Zimmerman.''