A Camden County man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday, in an incident that caused a trooper to fire at him in Buena.
Luis Figueroa, 30, previously pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and pointing a gun at a state trooper.
No one was injured in the incident.
“By opening fire on a motorist and pointing a gun at a state trooper, Figueroa demonstrated that he is a violent man who poses a serious danger to the community as well as law enforcement officers,” Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. “This sentence protects our residents and officers by keeping him in prison for a long time.”
Figueroa must serve seven years and nine months before he is eligible for parole.
He had been staying at the Rodeway Inn on Tuckahoe Road in Buena on May 2, 2018, when fired multiple rounds in the hotel parking lot just after 1 p.m., according to the charges.
He allegedly mistook the victim for a man he had argued with. The shot missed the driver and his car. Figueroa then walked out to Wheat Road, where he pointed the gun at a second man, a motorist driving on the roadway, charges claim. He didn’t fire at that time.
But that victim drove to a nearby Wawa, where he told a gas attendant that there was a man walking around with a gun. Another Wawa customer also reported seeing a man with a gun.
This caused some confusion, leading to Franklin Township police getting a call at 1:10 p.m. that shots had been fired at the Wawa.
Responding officers quickly determined the shots had been fired at the Rodeway Inn, and that the shooter ran.
Trooper Scott Montgomery arrived at the hotel with the lights and sirens of his marked patrol car activated. Montgomery found Figueroa near the Cranberry Run retirement community, and ordered the suspect to show his hands, the investigation determined.
Figueroa instead fled toward the woods. As Montgomery followed, a Cranberry Run employee warned him that the suspect had a gun.
Montgomery radioed his location and said he was in a foot pursuit, he then yelled for Figueroa to stop and get on the ground, but Figueroa continued to run.
Once Figueroa reached the tree line, he turned to face Montgomery head on and pointed the handgun at him with both hands on the gun. Montgomery immediately unholstered his service weapon and fired three rounds at Figueroa. Figueroa was not hit by any of the rounds.
Montgomery would later say he fired because he believed his life was in danger.
In November, a grand jury found Montgomery justified, and failed to indict him on criminal charges.
Figueroa ran again with Montgomery after him. Figueroa fell, and Montgomery placed him in custody.
Figueroa originally face an attempted murder charge.
After Figueroa’s arrest, officers found he had a stolen Keltec 9mm handgun along with a small handbag containing about .32 ounces of heroin mixed with fentanyl and approximately .18 ounces of cocaine.
In his hotel room, investigators found a scale, latex gloves and packaging materials, including wax folds and baggies. A bag of white powder tested negative for narcotics and was believed to be used as a cutting agent.
