New Jersey murder suspect commits suicide after standoff in Toms River

A New Jersey murder suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Friday night after a nearly seven-hour standoff with police in Toms River.

Maxwell Johnston, 35, of Manchester, was at a home in the 1900 block of Ravenwood Drive when police arrived to execute a warrant for his arrest, the Ocean County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

He was wanted in the murder of 25-year-old Seaside Heights mother Gabriella Caroleo, who was killed in Manchester Township on June 27. Caroleo was found with a gunshot wound to the abdomen and later died at an area hospital.

Dozens of local and regional police officers, including a SWAT team, surrounded the home early Friday afternoon. Neighbors in the area were evacuated as a precaution because it was an “active shooter” at the time.

Authorities said police were shot at several times during the hours-long barricade situation.

The conflict escalated around 6:30 p.m. when an armored vehicle appeared to be preparing to breach the front of the house, the Asbury Park Press reported.

About 45 minutes later, a woman came out of the house with her hands raised and was quickly escorted away by officers. Neither the woman’s identity nor her connection to the suspect have been publicly released.

At around 7:45 p.m., flash grenades were placed in the house, APP reported. SWAT officers then entered the house and confirmed Johnston’s suicide.

Johnston, a career criminal, had been convicted at least four times for weapons and drug offenses between 2009 and 2015. He was released from prison in 2022 after serving nearly seven years, but was rearrested last August and released again in December, according to the APP.

Following Friday’s incident, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer released a statement saying, “I want to congratulate the men and women of the police department who spent the entire day working to resolve the situation peacefully. (They) conducted themselves professionally and fortunately no one was injured.”