TOMS RIVER – A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to more than 12 years in New Jersey State Prison for his role in a violent 2023 robbery in Brick Township, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced.
Vongvichit Vatthanavong, 50, was sentenced July 18 by Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer to 12 ½ years behind bars following his May 23 guilty plea to robbery. The sentence is subject to the No Early Release Act, requiring Vatthanavong to serve at least 85% before becoming eligible for parole.
The charges stem from a Jan. 5, 2023, home invasion on Pershing Avenue in Brick, where three masked suspects, one reportedly armed, assaulted a man exiting his vehicle and stole $3,000, a watch, and a cellphone.
Vatthanavong was identified during a yearlong investigation and voluntarily appeared for questioning on Feb. 7, 2024, when he was taken into custody. He has remained at the Ocean County Jail since his arrest.
The other two suspects remain unidentified.
Billhimer praised Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Burke and credited the Brick Township Police Department, its Detective Bureau, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office High Tech Crime Squad, and the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences for their work in the case.
