Drug suspect charged with hitting troopers while fleeing

A Burlington County man has been indicted on charges of striking two New Jersey state troopers with his vehicle while fleeing a drug arrest.

Juan Gutierrez-Valencia, 29, of Pemberton Township, faces charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, and other offenses in the July 7, 2014, incident in Mount Laurel, the state Attorney General's Office said Thursday.

Authorities gave this account:

An undercover detective purchased drugs from Gutierrez-Valencia in the back parking lot of a Mount Laurel hotel. As police moved to arrest him after the crystal meth sale, Gutierrez-Valencia, who was in the driver's seat of a Mercedes-Benz sedan, drove backward and made a sharp turn, striking two troopers who were getting out of a van. They had minor injuries.

A third trooper fired his M-4 carbine at Gutierrez-Valencia and grazed his arm.

Gutierrez-Valencia resisted as troopers placed him in custody, authorities said. He was treated at Cooper University Hospital and released to law enforcement that day.

Investigators found a stolen 9mm handgun and loaded magazine in the Mercedes, officials said.

The Attorney General's Office said it had determined that the trooper who shot Gutierrez-Valencia acted lawfully.

A separate grand jury indicted Gutierrez-Valencia on drug and weapons charges in December.