ASBURY PARK PRESS

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MAN KILLED BY
BRICK POLICE

TUESDAY 08.25.15

Steven M. Sheerer of Barnegat faces

obscenity and child endangerment charges
related to his harboring Rosie ODonnells
17-year-old daughter at his home.

THOMAS P. COSTELLO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Ocean County Sheriffs Department CSI officers examine the scene of a shooting at 47 Cherrywood Circle in Brick on Monday.

Cops: 21-year-old
had firearm; case
under investigation

Charged after celebritys

daughter found with him

STEPH SOLIS @STEPHMSOLIS

AND AMANDA OGLESBY @OGLESBYAPP

KATHLEEN HOPKINS @KHOPKINSAPP

BRICK Police officers shot and killed a 21-year-old

man outside of his house in what shaken neighbors describe as a barrage of gunshots that frightened them in
the middle of the night.
I heard some commotion, screaming and yelling,
then pop, pop, pop, pop, said Richard Ordermann, a
resident in the neighborhood. Thats when we said lets
get down, get away from the window.
Although police did not release any names, Derek
Hoffman said it was his son, Julian Hoffman, who was
shot by police. Julian Hoffman, a graduate of Brick Memorial High School, lived with his parents on Cherrywood Circle.
There are conflicting accounts about what led up to
the shooting.
According to Al Della Fave, spokesman for the
Ocean County Prosecutors Office, police received a 911
call at 10:50 p.m. Sunday from a man saying he was going to create a disturbance and immediately hung up.
Brick Township Police Officers responded and
upon their arrival were confronted by a Caucasian male
approaching them from the residence of 47 Cherrywood Circle with what appeared to be a black semiautomatic handgun, according to the release. After
the subject failed to comply with the officers orders to
drop the weapon, they discharged their duty weapons,
striking the armed male several times, fatally injuring
him.

THOMAS P. COSTELLO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

A Cherrywood Circle resident who gave her name as Alisa

recounts the shooting of one of her neighbors by police
officers in Brick on Monday.

There are conflicting accounts about

what led up to the shooting. Derek
Hoffman, father of the young man
shot, was not at the scene but said the
story he heard from witnesses
contradicts the police report.

See SHOOTING, Page 5A

Visit

APP.com

Lawyer: Man
in ODonnell
case will
be cleared

to view a video and photo gallery of the aftermath

of the Brick police shooting and its investigation.

BARNEGAT The lawyer for the man who harbored

comedian Rosie ODonnells missing teenage daughter
says he has surprise facts that will clear his client of
obscenity and child endangerment charges.
Suffice it to say, what youve read about the genesis
of this event is far from what the facts will show, attorney Robert L. Tarver said after his client, Steven M.
Sheerer, made a brief appearance before a judge via
videoconference on Monday afternoon.
Its been suggested that he engaged in some sort of
predatory behavior, Tarver said of his client. We will
suggest that the facts dont bear that out.
There are some very interesting facts here that we
believe will come to light, that were not sure the prosecutors office is aware of at this time, Tarver said.
He would not divulge what those facts are but said he
believes they will come out in the near future. He asked
that prosecutors not rush to a grand jury to gain an indictment in the case without first considering what he
said was exculpatory evidence.
Sheerer, 25, was arrested Friday night, three days
after Chelsea ODonnell, the comedians missing 17year-old daughter, was discovered in his Village Drive
home.
The arrest was the result of an investigation by the
Ocean County Prosecutors Office High Tech Crimes
Unit, along with Barnegat and Long Beach police, said
Prosecutor Joseph D. Coronato.
Coronato said inappropriate communications with a
17-year-old girl over the past several weeks led to
Sheerers arrest on charges of distributing obscenity to
a minor and child endangerment.
A complaint against Sheerer alleges he sent a nude
photo over the Internet to a minor on Aug. 18 and endangered a childs welfare by engaging in behavior that

See ODONNELL, Page 4A

Belmar diners leave waitress taunting note and no tip

ERIK LARSEN @ERIK_LARSEN
BELMAR A 20-year-old Rutgers University student
who is waiting tables at DJais Bar & Grill this summer
to help put herself through school got an unwelcome
lesson in the humanities this past week.
On Aug. 17, Jess Jones of Belmar, a 2013 Manasquan
High School graduate, was waiting on a party of eight
people at the landmark restaurant and night club on
Ocean Avenue. After the $112.03 bill was paid for by
credit card, Jones discovered that her customers had

left her no tip. Instead, the texting acronym LOL

for laughing out loud was written on the tip line of
the receipt next to the words, 1 hour for food.
The following day, Jones took to her Facebook page
to lament about the indignity, where she also posted a
photo of the receipt (blurring out any personal information belonging to the offending patrons).
Jones agreed to permit the Asbury Park Press to
share her story and publish the photo of the receipt.

My experience with this table was

cruel and unnecessary but sadly its not
uncommon.
JESS JONES,
BELMAR WAITRESS, ON THE LOL NOTE SHE GOT IN PLACE OF A TIP

See TIP, Page 4A

Trump is guest of honor in Long Branch. 7A

Dow finishes
down 588 points
Investors hoping for a market bounce after the Dow Jones
industrial averages worst week in four years got a vicious
plunge instead when the index fell 1,089 points, recovering
somewhat by closing. Wall Streets selling spree has been driven
by fears of a severe economic slowdown in China. PAGE 1B

ADVICE
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COMICS
HEALTHY LIVING
LOCAL

7D
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OBITUARIES
OPINION
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TECH TUESDAY
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VOLUME 136
NUMBER 203
SINCE 1879