McCray sentenced for stabbing of store owner MIDDLETOWN - Jeffrey Trent Mc- Cray, 21, of Atlantic Highlands, was sentenced to a 12-year state prison term April 18 for his role in the 2006 stabbing of a Middletown Township bicycle store owner. According to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, McCray must serve 85 percent, or more than 10 years and two months, before he will be eligible for release on parole. According to a news release from the prosecutor's office, the Middletown Township Police Department responded to a 911 call on Dec. 24, 2006, about a robbery and assault occurring at Mike's Bikes on Avenue D in the Leonardo section of Middletown. When they arrived, the officers discovered the owner of the bicycle store lying on the ground with three stab wounds, bleeding profusely, the press release stated. The store owner received emergency medical treatment for his injuries and was airlifted to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune. An investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the Middletown Township Police Department revealed that two individuals, McCray and a second man, later identified as Keith Simmonds, had entered the bike shop just before closing time. The two feigned an interest in purchasing a bicycle, according to the release. After the store owner showed Simmonds a number of bicycles, Simmonds grabbed the owner by the collar of his shirt and twisted it in such a way as to maintain a chokehold on him. Simmonds then brandished a knife, but told the owner that he would not be hurt. According to the prosecutor's office, McCray removed money from the cash register, and he and Simmonds then took the owner out of the store toward a garage, where they believed additional money would be found, the release said. While walking down a ramp, the owner attempted to escape, at which time Simmonds stabbed him in the back three times with the knife. Both men fled the scene. McCray was apprehended a short distance from the bike store within minutes. Simmonds was arrested several hours later. On March 6, McCray pleaded guilty to all the charges contained in the indictment against him, including first-degree conspiracy to commit armed robbery, first-degree armed robbery, first-degree attempted murder, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon. McCray pleaded guilty "open-ended," meaning that he entered his guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement. McCray's guilty plea was entered before Superior Court Judge Francis P. De Stefano, who also imposed the sentence. "This brutal crime was committed on Christmas Eve against a hardworking merchant," Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin said. "The plan to rob the store owner while armed with a knife escalated to an attempted murder when the victim was repeatedly stabbed as he tried to escape. These acts clearly demonstrate a complete disregard for human life. Consequently the sentence that was imposed upon McCray is appropriate." Valentin also commended the Middletown Township Police Department for their thorough investigation into this crime. The indictment against Simmonds remains pending in Monmouth County Superior Court. Simmonds is being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold Township, in lieu of $400,000 bail.S immonds is presumed innocent unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which a defendant has all the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the laws of New Jersey. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Prosecutor S. Allan Stacy. McCray is represented by Robert Konzelmann of Howell. Simmonds is represented by Steven E. Nelson, Esquire, of Neptune Township.