Photo Courtesy of Google
The incident occurred last Tuesday night at this Rego Park gas station.
By Forum Staff
A Corona man has been charged with slamming a stolen vehicle into a Nassau County detective, severely injuring him, last week at a Rego Park gas station, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Friday.
Jorge Alvarez, 18, was arraigned Thursday on a complaint charging him with first-degree assault, assault on a peace or police officer, third-degree criminal possession of stolen property, third-degree unauthorized use of a vehicle, and obstructing governmental administration in the second degree. Bail was set at $25,000 bond/$10,000 cash; according to the City Department of Correction, Alvarez posted bail and was released Friday. He has been ordered to return to court on May 27.
Photo Courtesy of NCPD
Jorge Alvarez
According to the charges, Alvarez was allegedly behind the wheel of a 2018 BMW X5 that had been reported stolen from Nassau County on Sunday, April 19. The vehicle was spotted just before midnight last Tuesday at a BP gas station on Horace Harding Expressway near 99th Street in Rego Park by Burglary Pattern Team detectives assigned to the Nassau County Police Department Auto Theft Unit. They were investigating a stolen car ring which led them to Corona.
According to NCPD, detectives attempted to arrest the three men inside the mid-size SUV. Alvarez then allegedly floored the gas pedal and struck one of the arresting officers before crashing into a nearby police vehicle. All three men exited the vehicle and fled on foot. Alvarez, Matthew Garcia, 21, of Corona, and Rafael Ramirez, 35, of Manhattan, were found a short time later and arrested.
The detective who was struck by the SUV suffered multiple injuries including a broken leg and was rushed to an area hospital for treatment.
“Our police face danger every single day on the job,” Katz said. “The defendant was attempting to evade arrest. But after fleeing the scene, he was quickly apprehended and now faces very serious charges.”
If convicted, Alvarez faces up to 25 years in prison.
