MAN CHARGED WITH ASSAULTING OFFICER BY DRAGGING HIM SEVERAL FEET WITH CAR WHILE FLEEING TRAFFIC STOP

MAN CHARGED WITH ASSAULTING OFFICER BY DRAGGING HIM SEVERAL FEET WITH CAR WHILE FLEEING TRAFFIC STOP

WESTMINSTER – A man will be arraigned today for assaulting a police officer with his car by dragging the officer several feet in an effort to flee a traffic stop. Marcos Gonzalez, 28, Fullerton, is charged with one felony count of assault of a police officer with sentencing enhancements for causing great bodily injury and having a prior conviction for possession for sale of a controlled substance in 2007. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of nine years in state prison. The People will be requesting Gonzalez be held on $250,000 bail at his arraignment today, Monday, Nov. 7, 2011, at 1:30 p.m. in Department W-14 or W-15, West Justice Center, Westminster.

At approximately 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 2, 2011, Gonzalez is accused of being pulled over by Garden Grove Police Officer Starnes in a routine traffic stop. Officer Starnes approached the defendant’s window and noticed an odor of marijuana from Gonzalez’s vehicle during the contact. At the request of the officer, Gonzalez is accused of getting out of his vehicle.

While Officer Starnes called for back-up, Gonzalez is accused of rushing back into the driver’s seat of his car. Officer Starnes attempted to stop the defendant by preventing him from getting into the vehicle, but was knocked down after being hit by the driver’s side door.

Knowing that Officer Starnes was hanging outside the vehicle, Gonzalez is accused attempting to drive away and flee, dragging Officer Starnes several feet before the officer fell to the ground. Gonzalez is accused of then fleeing the scene.

The defendant was arrested three days later, on Nov. 5, 2011, by Garden Grove Police Department officers.

The extent of the injuries to Officer Starnes is unknown at this time.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Olivieri of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case.

###