Joe Brandt
NJ Advance Media
NEW YORK — A man accused of firing at a police officer had ordered his girlfriend at gunpoint to drive him to New Jersey, authorities said Wednesday.
Miguel Angel-Villegas, 29, was indicted on several counts related to a shooting and manhunt that shut down parts of Little Egg Harbor and Tuckerton this past November, a week before Thanksgiving, authorities said.
Angel-Villegas was indicted on counts of attempted murder, kidnapping, two counts of aggravated assault, burglary, resisting arrest, hindering apprehension and three gun charges, including possessing a weapon after a conviction, officials said.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced the indictment in a news statement.
The morning of Nov. 21, 2019, a Tuckerton officer pulled over a car driven by Angel-Villegas’ girlfriend. The New Haven, Connecticut man was a passenger, authorities said.
Angel-Villegas ordered his girlfriend to tell the officer a fake name, and forced her to speed away from the traffic stop, officials said. They struck another vehicle, injuring its driver, before Angel-Villegas got away on a blue tricycle, the announcement said.
Schools in the area were on lockdown as authorities searched for Angel-Villegas, who was on a train and had passed through Union County. The crash scene in South Jersey remained covered by caution tape for much of the day as investigators examined the black four-door car.
That night, U.S. Marshals and NYPD arrested Angel-Villegas in New York Penn Station.