TOMS RIVER – A New Haven, Connecticut man who led police on a chase to New York City has been indicted on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, unlawful possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose and multiple other charges.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced Feb. 4, that Miguel Angel-Villegas, 29, was indicted on multiple charges including that of being a certain person not to possess a weapon; burglary; eluding; aggravated assault; aggravated assault; hindering apprehension or prosecution; and resisting arrest.
Angel-Villegas is currently lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending arraignment. Tuckerton Borough Police performed a motor vehicle stop in which Angel-Villegas was a passenger on Nov. 21.
During that stop, the vehicle pulled away at a very high speed and collided with another vehicle, injuring that vehicle’s driver at which point Angel-Villegas exited the vehicle, pulled out a firearm and began firing at the responding police officer.
Angel-Villegas later fled on foot and was apprehended later the same night by the United States Marshals Service and members of the New York City Police Department just outside of Penn Station, New York City.
An investigation by Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit detectives revealed that Angel-Villegas had previously threatened to kill his then-girlfriend – the driver of the vehicle — if she did not drive him from Connecticut to New Jersey.
According to police findings, he ordered her to provide the Tuckerton Borough Police Officer with a fictitious name and threatened her with a handgun, forcing her to speed away from the officer during the motor vehicle stop.
Prosecutor Billhimer thanked Chief Trial Attorney Michael Weatherstone and Assistant Prosecutor Victoria Veni who are handling the case on behalf of the State as the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit, United States Marshals Service, New York City Police Department, Tuckerton Borough Police Department, Little Egg Harbor Police Department, New Jersey State Police, New Jersey State Police Regional Operations Intelligence Center, New Jersey State Police Aviation Unit, New Jersey Transit Police, Ocean County Regional SWAT, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit, New Haven (Connecticut) Police, Port Authority Police, Tuckerton Fire Department, and Tuckerton Public Works Department for their outstanding work and collective assistance leading to the apprehension of Villegas and this Indictment.
