FREEHOLD – A Tinton Falls man has been sentenced to 19 years in prison for retaliating against a 63-year old male with special needs, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
Luis Vializ, 49, was sentenced on January 3, 2020. 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.
On September 19, 2018, Vializ was found in possession of a stolen bicycle in Neptune Township. Following his arrest, police discovered the victim of the bike theft was a 63-year-old individual with special needs.
On October 11, 2018, Vializ observed that same victim inside of an establishment in the Jumping Brook Plaza in Neptune, where the bike was secured outside. Vializ proceeded to use a hammer to repeatedly strike the bike and threatened to strike the special needs victim, in an act of retaliation.
On October 25, 2019, Vializ was convicted by a Monmouth County Jury after a three-day trial. Vializ was found 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 18 months in state prison for the fourth degree Receiving Stolen Property charge.
