Fullerton Man, 28, Pleads Guilty To Dragging Police Officer With Car

FULLERTON (CBSLA.com) — A 28-year-old Fullerton man pleaded guilty Thursday to dragging a Garden Grove motorcycle officer several feet while trying to flee during a traffic stop.

Marcos Gonzalez was convicted of felony assault of a police officer with a sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury, Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Olivieri said.

Gonzalez was sentenced to six years in prison. He would have faced up to nine years in prison had he not accepted the plea bargain and the case had gone to trial.

The incident occurred at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 2, 2011, when a motorcycle officer pulled over Gonzalez in the 13000 block of Brookhurst Street for allegedly failing to wear a seatbelt, court documents said.

As the officer approached the vehicle he smelled what he suspected was marijuana, and had Gonzalez get out of the car, Olivieri said.

While the officer radioed in for backup, Gonzalez jumped back into his car.

The officer tried to pull Gonzalez out but was knocked down as the suspect scrambled to flee the scene, Olivieri said.

Gonzalez drove away, running over the officer's legs and dragging him for several feet, police reported.

The officer sustained cuts and bruises.

Gonzalez was arrested three days later in Eastvale, a community in Riverside County.

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