Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Attempted Murder at Hazlet's Red Oak Diner

A Union County man who shot his estranged girlfriend multiple times in the head and body outside a Hazlet Township restaurant was sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Jermaine Foster, 35, was sentenced Friday by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Francis J. Vernoia, P.J.Cr. to an aggregate 20-year state prison term for first-degree attempted murder, as well as two firearms charges and a drug charge, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

The charges stem from a shooting outside of the Red Oak Diner in Hazlet, where Foster shot his then-35-year-old ex-girlfriend, a waitress at the diner, around 4:47 a.m. on Feb. 6, 2011. 

Foster had arrived at the diner earlier that morning in search of the victim. After arriving at the diner, Foster began to argue with the victim over the victim’s attempts to end their relationship and the victim’s refusal to leave the diner with him that night, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

The argument continued outside of the diner, where Foster pulled out a handgun and shot the victim several times in the face, neck, arm, and upper torso. After shooting the victim, Foster quickly fled from the diner prior to the arrival of the police, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. However, several hours after the shooting, the police tracked Foster to an apartment in Linden where detectives from the Hazlet Township Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, with the assistance of the Linden Police Department, arrested him without incident.

At the time of Foster’s arrest, the police recovered the handgun he used to shoot the victim as well as cocaine inside the apartment, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Foster was subsequently transported to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, where he was held in lieu of $1,000,000 bail. 

The victim survived and Foster was convicted for the attack in February 2013. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Matthew Bogner. Foster was represented by Michael Wicke, Esquire, and Ryan Moriarty, Esquire, both of Freehold.

Foster was sentenced to a 20-year state prison term for first-degree attempted murder. Foster must serve 85 percent of the sentence, or approximately 17 years, before he becomes eligible for release on parole, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Judge Vernoia ordered that the sentences on the remaining counts run concurrent to the sentence imposed for the attempted murder charge.