Pistol used in shooting found in house, cops say Victim recovering from five gunshot wounds BY DANIELLE MEDINA Correspondent BRICK TOWNSHIP - - Police have recovered a .44-caliber black powder pistol they believe was used by Van Ness Drive resident Richard Stanek in the Labor Day shooting of his mother's live-in boyfriend. Four weapons were found during a search of the home that concluded Sept. 6. But police believe it was the .44-caliber pistol that was used in the incident, Lt. John Rein said. "The other weapons were found in the victim's room," Rein said. "They weren't used in the incident." The .44-caliber pistol was found in Stanek's room, Rein said. Police are currently investigating how Stanek obtained the weapon and whether it was gotten legally. Stanek allegedly used the weapon to fire five shots at Kevin Kreiss, 54. Kreiss was struck three or four times in the abdomen and once in the head, Rein said. He also severely struck Kreiss on the head with the gun butt, he said. Rein said that the search took longer than usual because police had to wait until the tear gas that was used to try to force Stanek out of the home dissipated. "It wasn't an excessive amount, but it is a small house," Rein said. "It would have very uncomfortable for officers to enter and conduct the search, so we waited for it to air out." Rein said that the house was turned back over to the family on Thursday after the search concluded, but he did not know whether anyone had returned to the home. Brick police officers originally responded to a call from a resident in the Cape Breton neighborhood on Sept. 2 at 3:30 p.m. The resident reported hearing gunshots but did not know from where the sounds had come. Approximately 30 minutes later, Kreiss made a 911 call from the kitchen of the home at 39 Van Ness Drive. Kreiss told police he had been shot five times. At 4:40 p.m., the Brick Police Department's Emergency Response Team was able to rescue Kreiss and stabilize the area. Additional support from the Ocean County Northern Regional SWAT Team also arrived on the scene. Negotiators were able to communicate with Stanek, 28, who was in an upstairs bedroom of the house, but when it became clear that he wasn't coming out on his own, police fired multiple tear gas canisters into the home. Police entered the home around midnight and found Stanek hiding under a bed. Rein said that police did not know what precipitated the shooting, but according to Stanek's mother, Nancy Mazzarella, the two had never gotten along and were always bickering. "It had been going on for quite a while," said Rein. Police were never called to the home prior to the shooting, he said. Kreiss remained in critical but stable condition at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune, where he was airlifted to after police pulled him from the house, Rein said. Kreiss underwent surgery at the hospital on Wednesday, but Rein did not know the type or the extent of the procedure. Stanek remains lodged in the Ocean County Jail in Toms River. Superior Court Judge Wendell Daniels set his bail at $500,000, with no 10 percent option, on Sept. 4. Stanek was charged with attempted murder and criminal attempted murder, but Rein said he expects more charges to be handed down or presented to a grand jury. "I anticipate there will be weapons and aggravated assault charges filed against Stanek," Rein said. The investigation into the case is ongoing, and is a joint effort between the Brick Township Police Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, he said.