Community Corner

New Jersey Fugitive Nabbed at Madison at Hunt Club in Lower Gwynedd

Juan Manuel Mendez-Lazaro, 33, is charged with three counts of attempted murder of a police officer after fleeing New Jersey and hiding out in Lower Gwynedd, police said.

A fugitive from New Jersey who allegedly stole an Audi police car and hit two Fort Lee, NJ officers was nabbed at a home at Madison at Hunt Club in Lower Gwynedd this week.
Juan Manuel Mendez-Lazaro, 33, had been hiding out at the Lower Gwynedd complex since he allegedly fled the New Jersey borough on Aug. 23 after investigators came to his room at the Skyview Motel, per NJ.com.
Mendez-Lazaro allegedly escaped to an unmarked 2006 Audi A6, hit two officers with his vehicle, and then sped from the scene as officers opened fire on the vehicle, per the report. He ditched the car in Harlem, but not before allegedly stealing a raid jacket and .45-caliber ammunition, police said.
A manhunt led authorities to Lower Gwynedd, where Bergen County Prosecutors and Fort Lee police joined Lower Gwynedd police to apprehend Mendez-Lazaro, according to The New York Star-Ledger.
A search of the apartment at Madison at Hunt Club, according to NJ.com, uncovered more than five pounds of heroin. Edward Erne Gomez-Veloz, of Madison at Hunt Club, was charged with drug offenses, police said.
Mendez-Lazaro is being held on $2 million bail at Montgomery County prison, awaiting extradition to New Jersey.
According to court records, Mendez-Lazaro is charged with three counts of attempted murder of a police officer, aggravated assault by automobile, aggravated assault on a police officer,  eluding police, theft, providing false information to police and possession of marijuana.


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