Guilty plea after troopers struck by car
A Burlington County man who hit two state troopers with a car while trying to escape an arrest in 2014 pleaded guilty Tuesday to drug- and weapons-related charges, authorities said.
A Burlington County man who hit two state troopers with a car while trying to escape an arrest in 2014 pleaded guilty Tuesday to drug- and weapons-related charges, authorities said.
Juan Gutierrez-Valencia, 25, of Pemberton Township, pleaded to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, unlawful possession of a handgun, and obstructing the administration of law in Superior Court in Mount Holly.
The two troopers Gutierrez-Valencia struck were treated for minor injuries, but not hospitalized after the confrontation, which occurred at a hotel along Fellowship Road in Mount Laurel on July 7, 2014. Gutierrez-Valencia was treated for a graze wound to his arm from a third trooper who shot him during the incident.
Authorities said the confrontation began after Gutierrez-Valencia tried to sell crystal meth in a car to an undercover detective. When the detective saw the drugs, stepped out of the car, and called state police to move in, Gutierrez-Valencia tried to flee, the state Attorney General's Office said.
Authorities captured him and found a stolen 9mm handgun, the office said.
His arrest was part of a sting called Operation Speed Racer by state police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Four other men, three from New Egypt in Ocean County and the fourth from North Hanover in Burlington County, were arrested the day after the incident with Gutierrez-Valencia and have pleaded guilty to drug charges.
Gutierrez-Valencia will be sentenced April 1 and faces up to 10 years in prison.
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