LITTLE EGG HARBOR - One township man is dead and another facing murder charges after a fight, stabbing and death at a Maplewood Drive home Wednesday night, according to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
Township police found 28-year-old Richard Pone unreponsive with a stab wound to his chest in a second-floor bedroom after going to 21 Maplewood Drive around 8:15 p.m., according to a statement Thursday from Al Della Fave, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office.
Kendrick Coley, 25, is facing murder charges in the death of Richard Pone, 28.
A 911 call reported "a male within the residence with a knife," Della Fave said.
Police arriving at the house found 25-year-old Kendrick Coley "in the garage area of the residence and immediately took control of him in order to ascertain what took place at the residence," Della Fave said. A woman at the scene directed officers to the bedroom, where they found Pone, who "was pronounced dead at the scene 8:42 p.m."
Investigators from the prosecutor's office and the Ocean County Sheriff's Office responded as well, Della Fave said.
"The investigation by the partnering agencies found that there was an altercation between Coley and Pone, where Coley retrieved a kitchen knife and allegedly stabbed Pone in the upstairs bedroom," Della Fave said. "The altercation allegedly resulted from Pone confronting Coley about an assault against a female at the residence that had taken place earlier."
Maplewood Drive was blocked off to the public Wednesday night. A local fire truck had been pressed into service to guard the entrance to the residential road that is only accessible from Wood Street.
More than 2,000 feet in length, the dead end is part of a forested neighborhood of unfinished roads and little street lighting, tucked between Route 9 and the Sea Oaks Country Club's golf course.
Township police and the Ocean County Sheriff's Office investigated along with the prosecutor's office, Della Fave said.
Coley is facing charges of murder, unlawful weapon possession and weapon possession for an unlawful purpose, Della Fave said.