Point Pleasant Police Arrest Barricaded Suspect After Standoff

Police Lights (Photo: Jason Rojas/Flickr)

Point Pleasant Police over the weekend arrested a suspect wanted by the Howell Township police department – an operation that involved a regional SWAT team after the wanted man barricaded himself inside a River Avenue home.

According to a statement from Point Pleasant Borough police, officers were called to assist their Howell counterparts in executing an arrest warrant at a residence on the 1100 block of River Avenue in Point Pleasant in the early morning hours of May 9, 2025. The subject of the warrant, identified as Nicholas Soukas, barricaded himself inside the residence upon police arrival and was “observed to be armed with a knife,” the statement said.

“Initial efforts to communicate with Mr. Soukas were limited to verbal contact from outside the residence,” the statement said. “For the safety of nearby residents, additional officers responded to the area and traffic was temporarily detoured.”

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The Ocean County Regional SWAT Team was deployed and began negotiations in an attempt to have Soukas peacefully surrender and relinquish the weapon. After several hours of unsuccessful negotiation, SWAT officers utilized an explosive breaching device to enter the residence. The suspect “remained armed and noncompliant,” the statement said, and a Taser was ultimately deployed, “allowing officers to safely take Mr. Soukas into custody without further incident.”

Soukas was transported to a nearby medical facility for evaluation, and custody was transferred to the Howell Township Police Department.

The statement from police did not outline charges pending against Soukas, however court records showed he was facing counts of assault and criminal mischief. He was not listed as being in custody at either the Monmouth nor Ocean County jails by Monday.