An Ocean County man will likely not be free from prison until the year 2039 after being sentenced for a 2018 carjacking in Lakewood.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer says late last week 36-year-old John Bailey of Bayville was sentenced to 20 years in state prison after pleading guilty to carjacking. He will be required to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

According to authorities, on December 5, 2018, officers with the Lakewood Township Police Department were called to the area of Hearth Court for a report of a carjacking.

Responding Officers learned that a 20 year-old female was sitting inside her motor vehicle, outside of her home, when an unknown male approached her and asked for directions as well as a ride. The female gave the male directions, but declined to give him a ride. A short time later, the male returned to the vehicle, pounded on the window, and broke the glass. The male then entered the vehicle, sat on the female victim, and began to choke her.

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The man proceeded to then drive the vehicle with the woman trapped inside; he threatened to kill her if she did not remain quiet. She was ultimately able to open the passenger side door and jump out of the moving vehicle.

The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment of multiple injuries including a bite mark on her leg, a laceration on her head, and wounds to her neck.

Later that day, her vehicle was found abandoned in Jackson Township with blood stains on the rear driver's side door and quarter panel.

As an investigation progressed, a DNA test performed by the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences, "confirmed that John Bailey was the source of the DNA found in the victim’s bite mark and the blood stain in her vehicle."

On January 5, 2021, Bailey was charged with carjacking and he was apprehended on the 26th of that month. He has been held in the Ocean County Jail since being taken into custody.

Billhimer thanked the numerous law enforcement agencies that worked on this case, including the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office and the United States Marshals Service Task Force.

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