MAYS LANDING — A Pleasantville man has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a series of confrontations with his former girlfriend and a high-speed police chase, prosecutors said Monday.

Michael Ciarla, 33, pleaded guilty Oct. 22 before Superior Court Judge Joseph Levin to second-degree eluding, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and fourth-degree contempt, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office. The plea agreement calls for a five-year state prison sentence.

Prosecutors said Galloway Township police were called to a TD Bank on March 4 on a report of criminal mischief. The woman told officers she had seen Ciarla, her ex-boyfriend, slashing her tires in the parking lot with a knife. He left before police arrived, and a court order was later issued barring him from contacting her, prosecutors said.

On May 7, Atlantic City police responded to a report of a domestic dispute involving the same woman. Witnesses told officers they saw Ciarla hit her in the face inside a car, then get out and smash the rear windshield with an object, prosecutors said. He again left before police arrived.

On May 12, Brigantine police spotted Ciarla driving on Atlantic Brigantine Boulevard and learned there was a warrant for his arrest, according to prosecutors. When officers turned on their lights and sirens, he sped off at more than 100 mph, more than double the speed limit, prosecutors said.

Atlantic City police found him at Caesars shortly afterward and arrested him. A judge ordered him held after a detention hearing, prosecutors said.

Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 1.

This brief was drafted by AI from a public agency’s press release and published by The New Jersey Tide. Why we use AI for stories like this one.