MAYS LANDING — A Bridgeton man has pleaded guilty to gun, eluding and assault charges after he climbed into the driver's seat of a car and sped off with an Atlantic City police officer still inside, prosecutors said Monday.

Jonathan Candelaria-Torres, 27, pleaded guilty Oct. 22 to second-degree possession of a firearm by a person barred from having one, second-degree eluding and third-degree aggravated assault on a police officer, according to prosecutors. He entered the plea before Superior Court Judge Joseph Levin.

Under the plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend an eight-year state prison sentence, with five years to be served before he is eligible for parole. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 12, 2027.

According to prosecutors, Atlantic City police officers were investigating a car at Florida and Pacific avenues on Jan. 5 over a possible drug offense. The driver and passenger were ordered out, but Candelaria-Torres, the passenger, stayed in the front seat. A police dog brought to the scene signaled that drugs were present, prosecutors said.

When Candelaria-Torres refused to get out, an officer reached into the car to remove him. Prosecutors said Candelaria-Torres jumped over the center console into the driver's seat, put the car in drive and sped away with the officer still inside.

As the officer tried to take control of the car, Candelaria-Torres deliberately crashed it on South Indiana Avenue, then got out and ran north, prosecutors said. Police caught him minutes later and found a loaded handgun in his satchel when they searched him after his arrest, according to prosecutors.

This brief was drafted by AI from a public agency’s press release and published by The New Jersey Tide. Why we use AI for stories like this one.