Trial ordered for Howell men in autistic teen's dare

MANASQUAN – A judge on Wednesday ordered a trial for two Howell men accused of daring an autistic teen to jump off the jetty here into the frigid ocean last winter.
     Municipal Judge Paul J. Capotorto refused to enforce a plea bargain that had previously been offered to Nicholas Formica, 21, and Christopher Tilton, 20, and said he will list the matter for trial.
    “We’re absolutely thrilled,’’ said Christine Marshall of Howell, mother of 19-year-old Parker Drake, who has autism and diabetes.
     Formica and Tilton are charged with endangering the welfare of a mentally incompetent person.

Midnight stabbing, risky dare on the docket

They are accused of offering Drake $20 and two packs of cigarettes to jump off the jetty into the frigid Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 25, during the winter cold snap. They recorded a video of the ordeal, which they later posted on the social media site SnapChat.

Marshall claims her son could have died that day, from drowning, hypothermia, or because the pump that delivers needed insulin to his body froze when he jumped into the ocean.

“We thought the case was going to go a different way,’’ Marshall said after Capotorto refused to enforce the plea bargain for Formica and Tilton.

“Now Parker will be heard, and justice will be done,’’ Marshall said.

Plea deal for pair in autistic teen's plunge?

The charge against Formica and Tilton is a disorderly person offense punishable by a maximum of six months in jail. 
Reports of Drake’s ordeal in the Asbury Park Press spawned proposals for legislation calling for harsher penalties for endangering the developmentally disabled. One bill was passed by the Senate in July and awaits action in the Assembly.
     Marshall predicted that the trial will bring more attention to the need for laws to protect developmentally disabled adults..
     “It’s going to be taken more seriously, and laws will be passed regarding special needs adults,’’ Marshall said.
     She  and her son last month objected to the plea bargain that had been worked out for the defendants. The mother and son said they wanted the case to go to trial so Drake could be heard, but defense attorneys filed motions seeking to have a plea bargain that had been offered to their clients by prosecutors enforced.

Details of the plea bargain have never been disclosed.

Capotorto said he discussed the matter in his chambers with the prosecutor and defense attorneys and did not agree with arguments in favor of enforcing the plea bargain.
     “Therefore, I’m not going to enforce the plea agreement at this time and will list this matter for a full trial,’’ he said.
     Marshall, who was accompanied by Drake, beamed when the judge said that.
     Capotorto said he expects it to be a lengthy trial that will require a special municipal court session.
     “I believe there will be extensive testimony,’’ he said.
     The judge did not set a date for the trial.
     Defense attorneys Alton Kenny, representing Tilton, and Jason Volet, representing Formica, and James Carton, the municipal prosecutor who was handling the case, did not comment afterward.
     Carton approached Marshall afterward and told her there would be a new prosecutor on the case.
     When asked by the Asbury Park Press why he would no longer be handling it, Carton said he would not comment until the case is concluded. He said it would probably take a few weeks for a new prosecutor to be appointed.
     Carton is an alternate prosecutor for Manasquan. The borough’s primary prosecutor, Ronald Sage, previously withdrew from the case, saying he had a conflict of interest.
     Formica and Tilton were not in court on Wednesday; their attorneys at the last court session obtained permission for them to be excused.
     A request to photograph the court session was denied. The reason given for the denial was that the defendants wouldn’t be in attendance.



Kathleen Hopkins: (732)643-4202; Khopkins@app.com