Standoff on Ravenwood Drive in Toms River ends after fugitive kills himself: police

Erik Larsen and Thomas P. Costello, Asbury Park Press
Updated ·3 min read
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TOMS RIVER — A more than six-hour armed standoff between a fugitive and law enforcement officers has ended Friday night with one person dead at a Ravenwood Drive home near Toms River High School East, according to authorities.

The fugitive, Maxwell Johnston, 35, of Manchester, who was wanted for the murder of a 25-year-old woman in Manchester last week, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside the home at 1905 Ravenwood Drive in Toms River, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer and Toms River Police Chief Mitch Little said in a statement.

The U.S. Marshals Service, which apprehends suspects in federal crimes and pursues fugitives, had come to the home on Friday afternoon to execute a warrant, according to the Toms River Police Department. Additionally, a large contingent of local and county law enforcement officers assembled at a staging area at the corner of Red Cedar Street and Huckleberry Lane. Among them, a SWAT team was also on the scene with snipers taking defensive positions and their weapons trained on the house.

Just after 6:30 p.m., an armored vehicle appeared to be preparing to ram the front of the home. About 45 minutes later, a woman with cherry red-dyed hair emerged from the house with her hands in the air and was hustled away by officers who afterwards resumed a guarded posture outside the home.

The woman, Elizabeth Mascarelli, 29, of Seaside Heights, was charged with harboring a fugitive from justice, Billhimer said Saturday.

The standoff ended about 7:45 p.m. when stun grenades were deployed into the home, followed by a dozen SWAT officers in two teams who rushed in and exited a short time later with their weapons lowered. The ordeal was over.

“Negotiators attempted to have Johnston surrender himself peacefully; those attempts were met with negative results,” Billhimer said. “After several hours, Mascarelli exited the residence and was transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River to be treated for injuries sustained throughout the standoff. The residence was subsequently cleared using a drone, and Johnston was located in a bedroom, deceased, with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.”

Mascarelli had allowed Johnston to stay at the Ravenwood Drive home with her for four days, despite the fact she was aware of Caroleo’s murder and Johnston’s alleged involvement in it, he said.

She was served the complaint in the hospital and is to be transferred to the Ocean County Jail in downtown Toms River pending a detention hearing, the prosecutor said.

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The Sheriff’s Office, which often works closely with the Marshals Service, had issued text alerts to the public starting early on Friday afternoon, instructing people to “not approach this area.”

Jennifer Santana of Toms River, the aunt of Gabriella Caroleo, who was murdered on June 27, had told the Asbury Park Press earlier in the day that the suspect wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of her niece was the fugitive inside the Ravenwood Drive home on Friday.

“I live right around the block from the house,” Santana said.

Maxwell Johnston, 35, of Manchester, was wanted for murder in the shooting death of Gabriella Caroleo, 25, of Seaside Heights, in Manchester on June 27. A little more than a week later, Johnston killed himself during a standoff with law enforcement in Toms River.
Maxwell Johnston, 35, of Manchester, was wanted for murder in the shooting death of Gabriella Caroleo, 25, of Seaside Heights, in Manchester on June 27. A little more than a week later, Johnston killed himself during a standoff with law enforcement in Toms River.

Johnston had been charged with murder and weapons offenses in the shooting of Caroleo of Seaside Heights, according to Billhimer and Manchester Police Chief Antonio Ellis.

Santana stood with about a half dozen family members and friends of Caroleo on the perimeter of the scene Friday, wanting for a resolution to the standoff and ultimately justice. They were wearing T-shirts with the image of the victim on the front and the words “Always and Forever in Our Hearts” on the back.

Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shooting Toms River NJ: Ravenwood Drive standoff over, suspect dead