Manchester Man Sought After Running From Drug Investigation

A search is underway for a Manchester man who ran from a drug investigation in Toms River and is believed to have called in a gun threat at the Ocean County Mall in an effort to divert attention, Toms River police said.

New Jersey State Police helicopter and Ocean County Sheriff’s Department K-9 officers are helping in the search of a wooded area near Whittier Avenue and Washington Street, Toms River Police spokesman Ralph Stocco said Tuesday afternoon.

The man is believed to be Jeffrey Livingston, 22, of Edinburgh Lane in Manchester is described as a black male, about 6-foot-4 and weighing 180 pounds. He was dressed in a black T-shirt and black shorts, Stocco said.

Livingston was a passenger in a vehicle that was the subject of a drug investigation, Stocco said, and he jumped out of a vehicle and ran into the woods, Stocco said.

While units were searching for the suspect, a gun threat was called into the Ocean County Mall, Stocco said. The threat is believed to be an attempt to divert the officers’ search efforts. It is believed that Livingston placed that call from his cell phone, Stocco said.