Man Admits Shoving Jersey Shore Man Off Motel Balcony

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Jackson Township man has admitted throwing a Seaside Park man off a motel balcony in November, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Wednesday.

Steven Adams, 23, on Tuesday pled guilty to aggravated assault before Ocean County Superior Court Judge Guy P. Ryan in an incident that happened Nov. 15 in Seaside Park, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Adams is scheduled to be sentenced on April 8, with prosecutors seeking a term of five years in prison, subject to the No Early Release Act, Billhimer said.

Seaside Park police found Chad Atwood, 42, on the pavement at the Desert Palm Inn when they were called about 7 p.m. on Nov. 15, the prosecutor said. Atwood was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment of serious injuries, police said.

Investigators determined Adams and Atwood, who both were staying at the Desert Palm Inn, got into a fight in the parking lot that continued up to the second-floor balcony. Adams charged at Atwood and pushed him over the balcony railing, causing him to fall to the pavement, police said.

Adams was arrested and has been held at the Ocean County Jail since that day, Billhimer said.

Assistant Prosecutor Kimberly Carr handled the case, and Billhimer praised Seaside Park Police Department for their investigation.

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