Queens Con Living As Autistic Man Dragged Cop With Car: DA

JAMAICA, QUEENS — A Queens man has pleaded guilty to dragging a police officer with his car during an attempted traffic stop, the district attorney's office announced Tuesday.

The man, a 40-year-old Jamaica resident, also pleaded guilty to identity theft, discovered when police arrested the man for assaulting a police officer.

On July 26, 2017, police saw Joel Burnett run a stop sign and tried to stop him, according to the charges. Police asked Burnett to step out of the vehicle, but Burnett instead stepped on the gas, dragging one of the police officers for two city blocks. The injured officer freed himself and arrested Burnett, according to the charges.

After Burnett's arrest, police discovered that the U.S. Virgin Island's driver's license he had shown during the traffic stop did not belong to him. For 19 years, police found, Burnett had assumed the identity of an autistic man who lives in a group home.

Burnett pleaded guilty to assault and identity theft, the Queens DA's office said.

A Queens Supreme Court judge is expected to sentence Burnett to 13-and-a-half years in prison for injuring the police officer and up to three years for the identity theft, according to the DA's office.