Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman announced that a Gloucester County man was convicted today at trial of aggravated assault for dragging a New Jersey state trooper with his car during a violent incident following a traffic stop. He also rammed the vehicle of an off-duty State Police captain while trying to escape.
Daren J. Rebel, 22, of Westville was found guilty today by a Gloucester County jury of second-degree aggravated assault while eluding police, second-degree eluding, third-degree aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, and fourth-degree aggravated assault.
Those charges relate to the trooper he dragged with his car. Rebel was convicted following a three-week trial before Superior Court Judge Christine Allen-Jackson. The judge previously dismissed two counts of attempted murder that were contained in the indictment, and Rebel was acquitted at trial of charges of second-degree attempted aggravated assault, third-degree resisting arrest, third-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and third-degree assault on a law enforcement officer. Except for the resisting arrest charge, all of those charges relate to his conduct involving the State Police captain.
Judge Allen-Jackson scheduled sentencing for Rebel for March 13.
Rebel was indicted by a state grand jury on Sept. 25, 2013, as a result of an investigation by the Attorney General’s Shooting Response Team.
The investigation determined that on Aug. 10, 2012, multiple 911 calls were made regarding a red Toyota Camry driving recklessly on Route 55 North. A New Jersey state trooper spotted the car and gave chase, eventually following the car off Exit 58 for the Deptford Mall. At the intersection, the trooper approached the car and attempted to remove Rebel, the driver. Rebel then accelerated and the trooper was almost pulled underneath the vehicle.
A New Jersey State Police captain, who was off-duty at the time, happened to be stopped at the intersection and began to turn his Chevy Impala to assist the trooper. Rebel struck the captain’s vehicle in the intersection, and the trooper who originally stopped Rebel was thrown off Rebel’s Camry and dragged by the car. The captain then gave chase and followed Rebel’s car behind the BJ’s Wholesale Club on Deptford Center Road. There, Rebel parked the Camry, and he and his three passengers exited the automobile.
When the captain drove up behind the car, Rebel returned to the Camry, drove the car in reverse and struck the captain’s vehicle again. As the captain exited his Impala, Rebel turned his car around. The captain drew his weapon but Rebel began to drive directly at the captain. The captain narrowly jumped out of the way and fired three shots at Rebel. All three shots struck the car but missed Rebel. As Rebel fled the scene, the captain remained and secured the three passengers who had not re-entered the Camry. Rebel’s vehicle was subsequently located and he was arrested.
The second-degree aggravated assault charge carries a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison, including a period of parole ineligibility under the No Early Release Act equal to 85 percent of the sentence imposed.