Police say NJ man tasered woman and choked her in car
JACKSON — Police are searching for a man accused of attacking a woman with a stun gun and choking her, briefly holding her captive in her own car.
The suspect was identified as 26-year-old Jesse J. Shawger, of Toms River, though police said he may be staying at residences in Jackson.
Police described the pair as a couple.
Shawger also has a criminal record, including a past bust on a charge of failing to pay child support.
At about 2:20 p.m. Tuesday, officers responded to a home on Melissa Lee Drive, where a resident said a female had come out of a nearby wooded area screaming for help.
Police said the female victim knew Shawger when she picked him up at a Jackson residence and drove to a nearby WaWa parking lot. They were talking inside the woman's vehicle when she said Shawger began using cocaine and then shocked her with a stun gun that he had brought with him.
The victim told police Shawger threatened her with the taser not to try and alert police, before also choking her.
The woman told police that she crawled into the rear seat of the vehicle as the suspect drove away with the child safety locks engaged.
He drove to Melissa Lee Drive, where police say Shawger got out of the vehicle, dropped the keys on the ground and threw the victim’s cell phone into the woods before walking away.
Police say he still may have the taser and is currently listed with law enforcement as a "New Jersey Wanted Person."
Anyone with any information of Shawger’s location are asked to contact Jackson police at 732-928-1111.
Information also can be left anonymously at the department’s P3 Tips site.
Shawger was charged with criminal restraint, robbery, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and aggravated assault.
Shawger has been arrested before, including in 2014 as one of three suspects accused of a home burglary in Howell, as reported by Asbury Park Press.
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