Lengthy Standoff At Ocean County Home Ends In Man's Arrest

POINT PLEASANT, NJ — A Point Pleasant man was arrested following a standoff at a River Avenue home late Friday night into Saturday morning that ended with authorities forcing their way in and using a Taser to subdue him, police said.

Nicholas Soukas, 36, was being sought on a warrant out of Howell Township, Point Pleasant Police Capt. Loren MacIver said Monday. Howell police said Soukas had been involved in an argument with family members but did not provide additional details.

When Howell and Point Pleasant police arrived at the home on the 1100 block of River Avenue to arrest Soukas, he barricaded himself inside the home, MacIver said. Police saw that he was armed with a knife, he said. Online records list Soukas as the owner of the home where the standoff took place.

Authorities tried to communicate with Soukas but those efforts were limited to speaking to him from outside the house, MacIver said. Additional officers were called in, including the Ocean County SWAT team, and traffic was detoured from River Avenue between Route 88 and Bridge Avenue, he said.

Authorities tried to negotiate with Soukas and convince him to surrender peacefully and give up the knife, but after several hours of unsuccessful negotiations, SWAT officers used "an explosive breaching device" and went into the home, he said.

Once inside they found Soukas, who was still armed and refusing to drop the knife or cooperate, MacIver said. Soukas was ultimately subdued using a Taser and taken to a hospital for evaluation and turned over to Howell police, he said.

The exact charges pending against him were not immediately available and Soukas was not listed as an inmate in either the Monmouth County or Ocean County jails.

The Point Pleasant Police Department would like to thank our residents for their patience and cooperation during this prolonged incident," police said. "We understand the disruption caused by loud announcements and explosive breaching devices during the late night and early morning hours, and we appreciate the community’s understanding as officers worked to bring the situation to a safe resolution."

Chief Christopher Leonhardt thanked the Ocean County Regional SWAT Team and the Howell Township Police Department for their assistance during the incident, MacIver said.