Ex-firearms Instructor Indicted in Asbury Shooting

A former New Jersey State Parole Board firearms instructor has been indicted by a state grand jury on charges stemming from a shooting in an Asbury Park restaurant.

Mark Lucia, 35, of Tinton Falls was charged with second-degree official misconduct and one count each of second-, third- and fourth-degree aggravated assault, according to the indictment.

The indictment alleges that on the evening of April 15, Lucia, who was a district supervisor/lieutenant at the New Jersey State Parole Board, and a firearms instructor for the agency, got into a verbal and physical altercation with a waiter at Posillipo's restaurant at Second Avenue and Main Street in Asbury Park.

Lucia and his brother, Bill, an Eatontown police officer, were at a private party in the restaurant to celebrate a child's christening, according to police reports at the time of the incident.

The party had ended, and most people had left, but the Lucia brothers, along with an assistant manager and some people who were cleaning up, remained behind when the altercation broke out.

The indictment charges that, following the altercation, Lucia picked up his Glock 27 .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol and aimed it at a waiter. The gun then went off, striking the waiter and two other Posillipo employees.

All three employees were struck in their legs, according to police reports. Those struck were Alejandro A. Marin-Hernandez, 27, and Leo Degario Ramirez-Alvarez, 46, both of Long Branch, and Carlos Gonzalez, 32, of Neptune.

Mark Lucia had been employed by the Parole Board since August 1996. He was placed on administrative leave after the incident.

Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Gottschalk and the Attorney General's Shooting Response Team coordinated the investigation. Gottschalk presented the case to the state grand jury.

The indictment was handed up to Superior Court Judge Linda R. Feinberg in Mercer County.

Second-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison and a $150,000 fine; third-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years in state prison and a $15,000 fine; and fourth-degree crimes carry a maximum of 18 months in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000.