Man went on 2-day rampage against women across NJ, cops say

🚨Quamel Benton's night of crime spans two counties

🚨Police say his spree started by hitting a woman with a baseball bat in Willingboro

🚨He admitted trying to kidnap a teen in Lakewood and groping a woman in a parking lot

A Farmingdale man admitted to a violent crime spree in two Ocean County towns during one night in March that included the attempted kidnapping of a 13-year-old girl.

While he has admitted his actions in those towns, he's also facing separate charges in neighboring Burlington County, where the events began in the Rittenhouse section of Willingboro on March 21. That's where Benton hit a woman in the head with a baseball bat inside the home he shared with her and then drove off in her vehicle, according to Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw.

Several young children were left alone when the woman was taken via medical helicopter to Cooper University Hospital for treatment of a severe head wound.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said that about 45 minutes later, Lakewood police got a call for a possible kidnapping during the evening of March 21 in the area of Forest Park Circle. The caller said a man, later identified as Quamel Benton, who was driving a white SUV, tried to kidnap a teenage girl who was able to get away and run home.

Toms River police were called to the parking lot of the Target on Hooper Avenue after a woman reported Benton grabbed her inappropriately. Toms River police found the suspect's vehicle in a nearby parking lot and began a police chase.

Authorities said the vehicle sped erratically onto the Garden State Parkway and police ended the chase for safety reasons.

Nearly four hours later, Toms River police got another call about a man trying to break into a woman's car while she was in it. Benton again tried to drive away when police arrived, prosecutors said. Authorities said that after another police chase, Benton crashed into a utility pole near Route 70 and Whitesville Road.

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Two sets of charges

Billhimer said a "thorough investigation" by five law enforcement agencies connected Benton to all the incidents of March 21 and 22 which led to a set of charges from Burlington County and a second set from Ocean County.

Benton pled guilty to attempted kidnapping, two counts of eluding, and criminal sexual contact for the Ocean County charges. Billhimer said a sentence of seven years will be requested at sentencing on Dec. 6.

He still faces charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault, unlawful possession of a weapon, and endangering an injured victim charges in from Willingboro police along with five counts of neglecting a child. He is being held in the Burlington County Jail.

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