Asbury Park Murder Suspect Heads to Trial

The suspect accused of shooting a victim to death after an argument in Asbury Park in 2011 risks a prison sentence of 30 years to life if found guilty at trial. Gregory Hopson, 25, of Asbury Park, was indicted by a Monmouth County grand jury today.

Hopson is charged with first-degree murder, and three related second-degree weapons counts.

According  to investigators, a city police officer responded to a report of a disorderly male at Mr. Pizza at 2:11 AM on October 2, 2011 and heard gunshots from Ridge Avenue. The victim was found unresponsive in the driver's seat of a vehicle, and died the following day  at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.

An autopsy by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as gunshot wounds to the head.

Hopson was arrested April 14 of last year and placed in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold, with bail set at $3,000,000. He's been there since then.

Conviction on the murder charge would dictate a minimum of 30 years in prison and a maximum life term, with 30 years before parole eligibility. Hopson would also be required to serve 85 percent of his term before parole consideration under New Jersey's No Early Release Act. Each of the second-degree counts carries a possible prison term of 10 years, with five-year waits for parole eligibility.