A Tinton Falls man was sentenced to an aggregate 19 years in a New Jersey State Prison following his October conviction for retaliating against a 63-year old male with special needs.
Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said Luis Vializ, 49, of Tinton Falls, was sentenced by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Vincent N. Falcetano Jan. 3. Upon a motion by the state, Judge Falcetano found Vializ to be a statutory persistent offender and ordered Vializ to be sentenced to an extended first degree term of imprisonment.
Vializ was convicted by a Monmouth County Jury on Oct. 25 after a three-day trial before Falcetano. The jury found Vializ guilty of second degree witness retaliation, third degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, fourth degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and fourth degree receiving stolen property.
Vializ was sentenced to 15 years in state prison for the second degree Witness Retaliation charge, and a consecutive four year term in state prison for the merged weapons offenses. Vializ was also sentenced to a concurrent eighteen months in state prison for the fourth degree receiving stolen property charge.
Vializ was found in possession of a stolen bicycle in Neptune on Sept. 19, 2018, and following his arrest was informed the victim of the bike theft was a 63-year-old individual with special needs. Nearly a month later, on Oct. 11, 2018, Vializ observed that same victim inside of an establishment in the Jumping Brook Plaza in the township, where the bike was secured outside. Upon seeing both the bike and the victim, Vializ used a hammer to repeatedly strike the bike and threatened to strike the special needs victim, in an act of retaliation.
The charges in this case were the result of a joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Neptune Township Police Department.
