New Jersey’s Toms River.Prosecutors said Friday that a Farmingdale man has been sentenced to seven years in state prison for a violent rampage across Ocean and Burlington counties in March 2024 that included numerous other offenses, including attempting to kidnap a teenage girl.
Under the No Early Release Act, Quamel Benton, 36, was sentenced to seven years in prison for attempting kidnapping. He must complete at least 85% of his term before he can be released on parole. In addition, Benton received 18 months in prison for illicit sexual contact and two five-year sentences for evading the police. His overall prison term will be increased by some of these punishments, which will run consecutively.
Benton tried to drag a teenage girl into his SUV in Lakewood on March 21, 2024, but she got away and fled home. A few hours later, Benton approached a woman in the Toms River Target parking lot and then ran away. After a fast-paced pursuit, Benton managed to get away from the police.
Benton was apprehended in the wee hours of March 22 after trying to break into the vehicle of another woman in Toms River. After a brief foot pursuit, he was caught after crashing his car during a police chase.
Benton is charged with attempted murder and child negligence in Willingboro, where investigators connected him to all of the crimes in Lakewood, Toms River, and a related violent assault.
Benton will continue to serve his sentence at New Jersey State Prison, where he has been detained since his arrest.
