Man who held ex-girlfriend at gunpoint in Toms River for five hours pleads guilty

TOMS RIVER−A man who authorities said held a former girlfriend at gunpoint for five hours after forcing his way into a hotel room three days earlier and assaulting the same victim has admitted to the crimes.

Deshaun Porter, 29, of Newark, pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated assault, two counts of being a certain person not to possess a weapon, and another weapons offense before Superior Court Judge Kenneth T. Palmer in Toms River.

On Nov. 3, Porter forced his way in to a room at the Howard Johnson's Hotel in Toms River, threatened the people inside with a handgun and struck his former girlfriend in the face, authorities said.

Three days later, Toms River police went to an apartment on James Street after getting a call about a woman being held against her will by a man. When the officers arrived at 9 a.m., Porter fled the scene. He had been in the apartment for five hours, authorities said.

Porter was arrested in Atlantic City on Dec. 9 by the United States Marshals Service, Atlantic City Metro Task Force and New Jersey State Police. He was taken to the Ocean County Jail in Toms River, where he has been held since his arrest.

Porter is scheduled to be sentenced June 2.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said in a statement his office will be seeking a seven-year prison term for the aggravated assault charge and five years in prison for each of the weapons offenses with those three sentences to run concurrently.

Ken Serrano covers crime, breaking news and investigations. Reach him at 732-643-4029 or at kserrano@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Toms River NJ assault: Man admits to holding ex-girlfriend at gunpoint