MONMOUTH COUNTY – A Keansburg woman has pleaded guilty to attempted murder after admitting she intentionally ran over her then-boyfriend with her vehicle during a violent incident at a Monmouth County shopping center last summer, authorities said.
Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced that Yvette C. Barnes, 42, entered a guilty plea to a first-degree charge of attempted murder during a court appearance January 28 before Superior Court Judge Jill G. O’Malley.
The plea follows a joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ocean Township Police Department into an incident that occurred late on the night of July 10, 2024.
According to authorities, police were called shortly after 11 p.m. to a strip mall parking lot along Route 66 after witnesses reported a woman driving erratically and striking a pedestrian with a vehicle. When officers arrived, they found a man lying motionless in the lot with severe injuries to his head, neck and body. Investigators also observed blood and strands of hair scattered across the scene.
Prosecutors said the investigation determined the victim had been run over and then dragged through the parking lot while pinned beneath Barnes’ vehicle.
The man was rushed to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment. Officials said he remains hospitalized, is now a quadriplegic and has undergone multiple surgeries and skin grafts as a result of his injuries.
Sentencing is tentatively scheduled for March 11. Prosecutors plan to seek a 15-year state prison sentence, with Barnes required to serve 85 percent of the term before becoming eligible for parole under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act.
The case is being handled by Assistant Prosecutor Michael Luciano of the Major Crimes Bureau. Barnes is represented by defense attorney Kelly A. Anderson-Smith.
