AC man gets 18 years for beating death under The Pier

Nov, 23-2009 11:32 am

MAYS LANDING – An Atlantic City man was sentenced to 18 years in prison Friday in the killing of a 19-year-old man found cut and beaten to death April 25, 2008 underneath The Pier at Caesars in Atlantic City, according to Atlantic County Prosecutor Ted Housel.

In accordance with his Sept. 28, 2009 plea to aggravated manslaughter, Jerry “Wolf” Soto, 37, must serve 85 percent of the prison term before being eligible for parole.

for the slaying of Joseph Frankowski Jr. of Somers Point, Assistant Prosecutor Anne Crater said.

Prior to imposing the sentence, Superior Court Judge Albert Garofolo heard from the victim’s mother. Victim advocate Jacqueline Simonson held up a Mainland Regional High School graduation photo of Frankowski as his mother described him as the “light of her life,” a light that Soto “snuffed out.”

She told the court through tears that her son did not stand a chance against the much larger man and described the graphic photographs she saw of her son’s badly beaten body.

Soto admitted during his September plea hearing that he, the victim and Wayne Hoffman, 28, were drinking underneath The Pier at Caesars when Soto and Hoffman assaulted Frankowski. Soto said he used a broken bottle to inflict the fatal wounds.

Hoffman, who pleaded guilty Oct. 23 to third-degree aggravated assault, admitted punching the victim. He was sentenced to five years of probation. In addition, he spent 315 days in the Atlantic County jail, Crater said.

An autopsy performed by Atlantic County Medical Examiner Dr. Hydow Park determined Frankowski suffered multiple traumatic injuries including blunt force trauma to the head and a fractured skull. He also suffered a brain contusion, rib fractures and multiple lacerations, including cuts to the neck, face, torso and extremities. The cause of death was a combination of the traumatic injuries.

Soto, who has a lengthy arrest record and has been unemployed since 1998, apologized to the victim’s family and said he “blacked out” when the three men where drinking.

“I’m sorry for what happened,” Soto said. “It shouldn’t have happened.”