By: Richard L. Smith
Two men have admitted their involvement in a 2023 shooting that killed one person and left two others wounded in Asbury Park, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Tuesday.
According to the prosecutor’s office, 18-year-old Ziamere Ivery of Neptune Township pleaded guilty on May 9, 2025, to first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the death of 21-year-old Lativity Lyons. 
Ivery, who was initially charged as a juvenile before being waived up to adult court, now faces up to 18 years in state prison. Under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, he must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
Also pleading guilty was 20-year-old Michael Sally of Long Branch, who admitted to second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
He could receive a prison sentence of up to seven years, with a mandatory minimum of 42 months without parole, as outlined under the Graves Act.
The charges stem from a shooting that occurred just after 10:30 p.m. on July 3, 2023, at the Asbury Park Gardens apartment complex on Atlantic Avenue.
Police arrived to find three adult male victims suffering from gunshot wounds.
All were transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where two were treated and later released. Lyons, however, succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 10:50 p.m.
A fourth individual, believed to be the intended target, was not injured in the attack.
An investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Bureau, in collaboration with the Asbury Park Police Department, led to the arrests and subsequent guilty pleas of Ivery and Sally.
Sentencing dates for both defendants have not yet been announced.