Mansfield man pleads guilty to aggravated assault by auto in state Superior Court
By: Vanessa S. Holt
A Mansfield man, who pleaded guilty to aggravated assault by auto in state Superior Court on Tuesday for injuring three officers in a police chase through Burlington and Mercer counties last year, faces up to 11 years in prison.
Jeffrey Pierce, 23, was being sought for allegedly assaulting his parents and stealing his father’s pickup truck in May 2005 when he led police on a cross-county chase that culminated in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, injuring three police officers whose vehicles were struck along the way.
Mr. Pierce pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault by auto before state Superior Court Judge Thomas Kelly in Mercer County, said Angelo Onofri, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, he will be sentenced to 11 years in prison in July and will be required to serve nine years without parole, Mr. Onofri said.
Charges of robbery, aggravated assault and eluding police are still pending in Burlington County. The initial report that Mr. Pierce had assaulted his parents was made on May 11, but police were unable to locate him that day, Mr. Onofri said. On May 12, Mansfield police spotted the vehicle and a chase ensued through Bordentown, Trenton and Hamilton Township, where it ended when the truck driven by Mr. Pierce slammed into a police car on White Horse Avenue, Mr. Onofri said.
Two of the officers injured, Mercer County Sheriff’s Officer Joshua Hahn and Detective Marlon Webb, returned to work shortly after the crash, according to the prosecutor’s office. Trenton Detective John Carrigg returned to work, but later went off duty for shoulder surgery related to the accident, said Mr. Onofri.

