LAKEWOOD – A man charged with attempted kidnapping and a number of sexual offenses was arrested after police caught him fleeing from his final attack.
Lakewood Police said that at around 7:30 p.m. on March 21, a 911 call came in about an attempted kidnapping near Forest Park Circle. Witnesses said a man tried to force a teenage girl into a white SUV.
“Luckily the young lady was able to break free, forcing the unidentified man to flee the area,” Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith said.
The police got a description of the suspect and the vehicle. About 90 minutes later, Toms River Police got a report about a sexual assault in the Target parking lot on Hooper Avenue. The victim said she had been approached by a man and grabbed in an inappropriate manner.
According to reports, police saw the vehicle fleeing the parking lot and followed. The vehicle was speeding and driving erratically onto the Garden State Parkway north exit so police ended pursuit to protect other people on the road. They were able to get a registration number for the vehicle. From this they learned that the driver was Quamel Benton, 35, of Farmingdale. The information on the driver was tied to the incident in Lakewood and an alert for an aggravated assault that had happened earlier that day in Willingboro Township.
At 12:40 a.m. the next morning, police were called about a man attempting to enter a vehicle occupied by a female. Police arrived at the scene and identified Benton as the suspect. Benton fled in his SUV and was followed by police. He crashed into a utility pole near the intersection of Route 70 and Whitesville Road. He ran from the vehicle but was apprehended.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office charged Benton with Attempted Kidnapping, Luring, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Criminal Sexual Contact, two counts of Eluding, Resisting Arrest, and Obstruction. Additionally, Benton was charged by the Willingboro Township Police Department with Aggravated Assault and Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer commended the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit, Lakewood Police, Toms River Police, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office Forensic Services Unit, Willingboro Township Police Department, and New Jersey State Police, for their combined and collective efforts.
Charges are merely accusations until proven in a court of law.
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