By Tracie Carter
Ocean County officials said on November 3, Antwan McPhatter, 27, of Staten Island, New York, was sentenced by the Honorable Rochelle Gizinski, J.S.C., to five years in New Jersey State Prison as a result of his previously entered guilty plea to Eluding in connection with an incident that occurred in Seaside Heights on August 19, 2021.
According to officials, The Honorable Judge Gizinski also suspended McPhatter’s driving privileges for six months due to the Eluding conviction.
Additionally, officials said Judge Gizinski sentenced McPhatter to 30 days in the Ocean County Jail in connection with his guilty plea to the related motor vehicle offense of Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving Property Damage and likewise imposed a concurrent six-month loss of his driving privileges.
McPhatter pled guilty to these charges on August 29, 2022, before Judge Gizinski.
The investigation revealed that on August 19, 2021, at approximately 6:30 p.m., Seaside Heights Police Department officers responded to the Blaine Avenue area and the Boulevard for a report of a hit-and-run incident. The report indicated that a 2015 Jeep Cherokee crashed into an unoccupied vehicle and fled the scene.
Ocean County officials said Seaside Heights Police Officers attempted to execute a motor vehicle stop of a vehicle matching the description of the Jeep Cherokee, traveling in the wrong direction on Sheridan Avenue.
As officers activated their lights and sirens, the vehicle sped away at a high rate of speed - ultimately traveling northbound on Route 35. According to Seaside Heights Police, officers observed the Cherokee make a right turn onto Beach Drive in Ortley Beach; the Cherokee then stopped at the end of Beach Drive but accelerated westbound towards Route 35.
The Cherokee then failed to stop at a stop sign, entered Route 35, and collided with a marked Seaside Heights Police vehicle. As a result, the Cherokee struck a utility pole, which fell on top of the car. The driver of the Cherokee, identified as Antwan McPhatter, attempted to flee the scene on foot, at which time he was apprehended.
Officials said two Seaside Heights Police Officers were transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River, where they were treated for minor injuries and released. McPhatter was transported to Community Medical Center, where a blood draw was taken from him under a court-authorized warrant.
He was then transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he has been lodged since the date of his arrest.
Laboratory results of McPhatter’s blood draw - received by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office during the investigation - revealed that McPhatter was under the influence of alcohol and marijuana at the time of the incident and was, therefore, unfit to operate a motor vehicle.