A New Jersey man will remain behind bars after he delivered a punch that killed a white man last year. Anthony Collins, 41, was sentenced to three years in prison, and in accordance with the state’s No Early Release Act, he is required to serve 85 percent of his term, according to VIBE.
The fatal incident occurred back in September 2023, but Collins’ lawyer, Terrence Turnbach, said during a detention hearing that tensions between Collins and the 70-year-old victim began much earlier.
According to Turnbach, Robert May allegedly harassed Collins’ children for months, calling them racial slurs. Everything came to a head, however, when Collins said he walked out of a corner store with his fiancé and was approached by May.
During his plea deal, Collins alleged May ran into his fiancé using his bicycle, which May is known to ride, according to Asbury Park Press. After assaulting the woman, May reportedly called the 41-year-old Black man the n-word leading to Collins punching May once in the face, knocking him to the concrete.
“[Collins was] dealing with an individual he was well aware of from the standpoint that he had called his children ‘ni**er kid’ over eleven to twelve occasions,” Turnbach said during the hearing. “Their alleged victim was looking for my client, assaulted his wife, and called him a name that’s reprehensible.”
According to an Ocean County press release, May’s head hit the curb, and as a result, he began bleeding from his head and mouth. May refused further medical treatment at the scene, but once he made it home, the 70-year old began to exhibit signs of “erratic” behavior caused by his head trauma.
He was taken to a local hospital and remained in care until he died of his injuries on Oct. 1, 2023. An autopsy report obtained by Asbury Park Press ruled May’s death a homicide citing blunt force trauma.
A warrant for Collins’ arrest was announced three days after May’s death. He turned himself into authorities on Oct. 15 and has been in Ocean County Jail since then, per the Daily Voice. In June 2024, Collins pleaded guilty to manslaughter. His three-year sentence was announced last week.
“Mr. Collins has accepted responsibility for his conduct on September 18, 2023,” Turnbach said in a statement. “He is eager to complete his period of incarceration and return to his children, his fiancé and his work.”