Crime & Safety
Man Charged With Dragging South Brunswick Cop; Gets 11 Years
He was accused of grabbing a South Brunswick police officer's tie during a traffic stop, and dragging the cop along his car as he drove off.
SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A man accused of grabbing a South Brunswick police officer's tie during a traffic stop, and dragging the officer along his car as he drove off, was sentenced Friday to serve 11 years in a New Jersey state prison.
Alan Fratello, 48, was found guilty in March of last year of one count of eluding police, a more minor offense than the aggravated assault on a police officer and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, both of which he was originally charged with after the 2018 incident.
He was sentenced Friday to an extended term of 11 years in prison, with five years of parole ineligibility. Fratello received the extended term due to having prior felony convictions, which he has already served five years in prison for. He was on probation and driving with a suspended license when this happened in June of 2018:
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On the afternoon of June 12, 2018, fellow drivers on Rt. 32 called 911 to report a 2016 grey Kia Sorrento driving erratically near the intersection with Rt. 535.
Plainclothes South Brunswick police officers located the car and pulled it over. Detective Eric Tighelaar, not in uniform, said when he approached the car and began speaking with the driver, Fratello, Fratello suddenly grabbed his tie and began driving down the center median.
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Det. Tighelaar said he was forced to run alongside the vehicle, until he pushed himself off the car and was able to break free.
In court, Tighelaar testified that he thought he was going to have to shoot Fratello to get him to release his tie, MyCentralJersey reported.
However, during the six-day trial, Fratello was adamant that he did not grab or pull the officer's tie. He said the officer punched him twice during the car stop, and he drove off to avoid being punched again.
A jury found him guilty in March of 2019 of second-degree eluding.
Past Patch reporting on this incident: Man Turns Himself In, Wanted For Assaulting South Brunswick Cop (June 2018)
Lesser Conviction For SB Man Accused Of Grabbing Cop's Tie (March 2019)
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