Man In Ocean County Manhunt Agrees To Extradition: Prosecutor

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A man who shot at a police officer and sparked a daylong manhunt has agreed to extradition, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced Tuesday. Miguel Angel Villegas is now in Ocean County Jail after authorities caught him Thursday in Penn Station in New York, the OCPO said.

Villegas was charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful weapon possession, according to authorities.

Villegas was the passenger in a car that fled a motor vehicle stop in Tuckerton at the intersection of Route 9 and North Green Street on Thursday morning, County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. The car sped off but crashed into another vehicle. After the crash, Villegas and an unidentified Tuckerton police officer traded gunfire before Villegas ran from the crash scene, he said.

The officer wasn't injured, but the incident prompted a manhunt in the area. The Ocean County portion of the search was called off about 5 p.m. when authorities announced they had confirmed he was no longer in the Little Egg Harbor area.

Villegas, 29, was caught in Penn Station that evening by the United States Marshals Service and the New York City Police Department, Billhimer said. Read more: Man Sought In Little Egg Shooting Nabbed At Penn Station

Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Follow Barnegat-Manahawkin Patch on Facebook. Have a news tip? Email josh.bakan@patch.com.