On August 26, Ocean County officials reported that Mr. John Bailey, 36, of Bayville, was sentenced by the Honorable Guy P. Ryan, P.J.Cr.P, to 20 years in New Jersey State Prison as a result of his previously entered guilty plea to Carjacking relative to an incident that occurred in Lakewood Township on December 5, 2018.
Officials said the sentence will be subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2, meaning that Bailey will be required to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence before he may be considered for parole eligibility.
Bailey pled guilty to the charge before Judge Ryan on June 1, 2022.
According to Ocean County authorities, on December 5, 2018, the Lakewood Township Police Department officers were summoned 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 her home when an unknown male approached her and asked for directions and a ride. The female gave the male directions but declined to give him a ride.
A short time later, officials said Bailey returned to the vehicle, pounded on the window, and broke the glass. Officials said Bailey entered the car, sat on the female victim, and began choking her.
Bailey proceeded to drive the vehicle away with the victim trapped inside and threatened to kill her if she did not remain quiet. The victim was ultimately able to open the passenger side door of the vehicle and jumped out as the car was in motion.
Officials said the victim ran to a nearby house and the police were called. She was transported to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood for treatment of multiple injuries, including a bite mark on her leg, a head laceration, and neck wounds. Later in the day, on December 5, 2018, the victim's vehicle was found abandoned in Jackson Township with blood stains on the rear driver's side door and quarter panel.
On June 5, 2020, Ocean County officials said that the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences advised that the vehicle's D.N.A. profile obtained from the blood stain was a possible match to John Bailey. On October 13, 2020, a court-ordered buccal swab was taken from John Bailey and compared to the D.N.A. profiles obtained from the blood stain and bite mark on the victim's leg.
On January 4, 2021, the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences confirmed that John Bailey was the source of the D.N.A. found in the victim's bite mark and the blood stain in her vehicle. On January 5, 2021, Bailey was charged with Carjacking on a warrant and entered into the National Crime Information Center database as a wanted person.
On January 26, 2021, Bailey was apprehended by the Ocean County Sheriff's Office/United States Marshals Service Task Force members in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Bailey was transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he has been lodged since his apprehension.