Man Swallowed Ring, Photo Before Shooting-Suicide

A man who fatally shot a police officer, stole his car and led authorities on a 60-mile chase before killing himself had a woman’s wedding ring and a photo negative lodged in his throat, authorities said Saturday.

The Asbury Park Press, citing police sources, said the gunman was distraught over a failed relationship.

Prosecutor John Kaye said that two Long Branch police officers had identified Sgt. Patrick King’s killer as Roberto Perez, 32.

The ring and photo negative were found Friday by the medical examiner during an autopsy, state police spokesman John Hagerty said.

The man is believed to have swallowed them seconds before he used King’s 9-mm Beretta semiautomatic service weapon to shoot himself in the left temple Thursday night.

Kaye said the photo showed the gunman, a woman and two children.

A State Police fingerprint search turned up no matches for the dead gunman’s fingerprints in New Jersey, New York or Rhode Island, but found multiple matches in Massachusetts files, dating back to 1990 under a variety of names.

King was killed by two shots to the head as he ordered dinner at a Chinese takeout restaurant in Long Branch Thursday night. The gunman stole the officer’s gun and his key ring and took off in his patrol car.

He carjacked two vehicles and continued to speed away from police at speeds of up to 100 mph. The chase ended at the George Washington Bridge toll plaza, where Perez crashed into a car and then shot himself.