Evidentiary Issues in Manslaughter Case Lead to Plea Deal for Seaside Heights Man

Anthony Collins (Photo: Ocean County Jail)

A Seaside Heights man who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in connection with an assault that took the life of another borough man will spend three years in jail.

Anthony Collins, 41, of Seaside Heights, was sentenced by the Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan to the jail term in New Jersey State Prison in connection with the death of Robert May, 70, of Seaside Heights, on Oct. 1, 2023. Collins will be required to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence before he may be considered for parole eligibility. He pled guilty to the charge before Judge Ryan on June 10, 2024.

The incident which led to May’s death Sept. 18, 2023 at about 4 p.m., when officers from the Seaside Heights Police Department were called to the area of Central Avenue and Sumner Avenue for a report of a fall victim. Responding officers found a male victim – later identified as May – laying on the ground next to his bicycle.

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May was observed to be bleeding from a laceration to his head, prosecutors said in a statement. He was initially treated at the scene and refused further medical assistance; he then left the area and returned to his residence. A subsequent investigation by the Seaside Heights Police Department revealed that Mr. May was assaulted, which caused him to fall off his bicycle and strike his head on the pavement.

About an hour later, police received information that May had been acting erratically after his fall, resulting in him being transported by the Tri-Boro First Aid Squad from his home to Community Medical Center in Toms River. May’s condition continued to deteriorate, and he was subsequently transferred to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

On Oct. 1, 2023, May succumbed to his injuries. A post-mortem examination conducted on that date by the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of Mr. May’s death to be blunt force injury resulting from the assault which occurred in Seaside Heights on September 18, 2023, and the manner of his death to be homicide.

On October 4, 2023, a warrant was issued for Collins’ arrest, and his name was entered in the National Crime Information Center database. The next day, Collins surrendered himself at Seaside Heights Police Department Headquarters. He was transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he has been lodged since that date.

Prosecutors acknowledged the sentence was lighter than usual for an incident that left a man dead.

“Certain proof problems in this case resulted in the State entering into a plea agreement calling for a sentence that is below the normal sentencing range for manslaughter,” Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. “The victim’s family was  cognizant of those issues, and supported this resolution. I commend them for their understanding and forgiving nature.”