Man Admits Fleeing Police Stop, Nearly Hitting Detectives In Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A Jackson Township man has pleaded guilty in an October incident where he nearly hit three detectives while fleeing police, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday.

Kevin Valverde-Cruz, 21, pleaded guilty Wednesday to aggravated assault and eluding law enforcement before Superior Court Judge Linda G. Baxter, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

The incident happened Oct. 18 in Lakewood. Lakewood detectives saw a white Jeep Grand Cherokee speeding along and tried to pull it over, Billhimer said. The driver — Valverde-Cruz — refused to stop and the pursuit ended on the Garden State Parkway due to safety concerns, he said.

Later that evening, detectives found the same white Jeep Grand Cherokee — confirmed by its license plate number from the first encounter — on the shoulder of the westbound lane of Central Avenue in Lakewood, Billhimer said.

When detectives approached and made contact with Valverde-Cruz, he put the vehicle in reverse, hit a detective's vehicle, and turned back onto the road and took off, nearly hitting the detectives in the process, he said.

One detective fired a single shot at the side of the Jeep at the time, Billhimer said. The prosecutor's office did not say whether the shot hit the Jeep.

Investigators determined Valverde-Cruz was the driver, and he was arrested in January at his home; the Jeep Grand Cherokee was found there.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 8, with a term of five years in prison on the aggravated assault charge and five years on the eluding charge, with the sentences to run concurrently, Billhimer said.

Assistant Prosecutor Madeline Buczynski is handling the case on behalf of the state. The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit and Narcotics Strike Force, Lakewood Township Police Department Detective Bureau and Patrol Division, Jackson Township Police, Howell Township Police, Ocean County Regional SWAT, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit collaborated on the investigation.