Men Plead Guilty To Attempted Robbery Of Undercover Cop, Attorney General Says

TRENTON, NJ - Two men pleaded guilty to attempted robbery charges and a third faces an attempted murder charged after they attempted to rob and shot an undercover police officer while completing a drug deal he set up with the men last year, authorities said.

Patrick Morel, 23, of Clifton and Melvin Guzman, 20, of Garfield, pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted robbery, said Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman.. The men appeared in Bergen County Superior Court before Judge Susan J. Steel Monday, Hoffman said.

Rafael Vasquez, 27, of Passaic, the alleged gunman, faces pending charges of first-degree attempted murder and attempted robbery and second-degree conspiracy, along with second-degree weapons offenses, Hoffman said.

By pleading guilty, Guzman and Morel admitted their roles in the attempted robbery and shooting of an officer with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force on April 22, 2014, Hoffman said.

An undercover officer with the Task Force arranged to buy marijuana from Guzman outside a Marshall’s store in Garfield. The men had planned to rob the officer and brought a handgun and a bag of oregano to the meeting instead of marijuana, Hoffman said.

Guzman and Vasquez were inside a car Morel drove when the officer arrived at the store at about 1:30 p.m., according to authorities. Guzman allegedly got out of the car and sat on the passenger’s seat of the officer’s car; a short time later, Vasquez allegedly went up to the driver’s side of the car and brandished a .380-caliber handgun. He allegedly ordered the officer to give him all of his money, Hoffman said.

Vasquez and the officer struggled as members of the task force arrived at the scene; during the struggle, Vasquez allegedly shot the officer in the hip and ankle, Hoffman said. Vasquez allegedly pointed his gun at the officers while attempting to flee and two officers fired their guns at him, wounding him in the left shoulder, ear, and hip, Hoffman said.

Vasquez and Guman were arrested at the scene; Morel fled in his vehicle and was later arrested on on the Garden State Parkway without incident, Hoffman said.

“We’ll make sure that everyone responsible faces stern punishment for this violent incident in which a police officer was nearly killed,” Hoffman said in a press release.

A Grand Jury indicted Morel and Guzman April 22.

Morel and Guzman are scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 11.

First-degree charges carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison. Eighty-five percent of the sentence imposed must be served before the person becomes eligible for parole. The state will recommend that Morel be sentenced to eight years in state prison, including nearly seven without the possibility of parole.

(Rafael Vasquez, 27, Melvin Guzman, 20, and Patrick Morel, 23/State Attorney General’s Office)