TUCKERTON – A man has pleaded guilty to shooting at a Tuckerton Police officer, and now faces up to 15 years in prison.
Miguel Angel-Villegas, 31, of New Haven, Connecticut, pled guilty to Attempted Murder, and Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution.
On November 21, 2019, a Tuckerton Police Officer pulled over a car in which Angel-Villegas was a passenger. The driver, his girlfriend at the time, complied with the officer and pulled over. Angel-Villegas then told her to give the cop a fictitious name and then forced her to speed away, striking another car.
Police said Angel-Villegas came out of the car and fired at the officer. He fled on foot and was arrested later that day just outside of Penn Station, New York City, by the United States Marshals Service and members of the New York City Police Department.
He has been in the Ocean County Jail ever since.
His sentencing is set for September 27. He faces 15 years for attempted murder and five years for hindering. The sentences would run at the same time, though. The attempted murder charge falls under the No Early Release Act, which means he’d have to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer thanked Chief Trial Attorney Michael Weatherstone and Assistant Prosecutor Victoria Veni who handled the case on behalf of the State, as well 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 Team, 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 collaborative efforts in connection with this investigation, ultimately resulting in Villegas’ apprehension, guilty plea, and soon his state prison sentence.
