Larry C. James, 41, resisted arrest after Orange police told him to stay away from his car in 2013 when it was being towed following a motor vehicle accident, authorities said
Larry C. James NEWARK -- A Newark man was sentenced on Tuesday to seven years in state prison for resisting arrest after ignoring Orange police's commands to stay away from his car in 2013 when it was being towed following a motor vehicle accident, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray announced.
Larry C. James, 41, received the sentence from Superior Court Judge Alfonse Cifelli after being convicted by a jury on Aug. 17 of the resisting arrest charge, according to a news release from the prosecutor's office.
James must serve three and a half years before becoming eligible for parole, authorities said.
James was found not guilty on three counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, and the jury could not reach a verdict on drug charges against James, authorities said.
Those charges were resolved when James pleaded guilty on Aug. 31 to possession of heroin and possession of cocaine, authorities said. A three-year prison sentence on the drug offenses is expected to run concurrent to the seven-year prison term on the resisting arrest charge, authorities said.
Since James has five prior felony convictions, he was sentenced as a "persistent offender," according to Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Marissa Kawecki, who handled the case.
"We believe this sentence is appropriate and necessary to protect the public given this defendant's long history of violating the law," Kawecki said in the news release.
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The case stems from a Sept. 28, 2013 crash involving James's vehicle and another car at the intersection of Central Avenue and Hickory Street in Orange, authorities said. Three Orange police officers patrolling the area responded to the scene after hearing the crash, authorities said.
James was the driver of one vehicle and the other vehicle was visiting from Maryland, authorities said. Since the damage to both cars rendered them inoperable, the officers called for tow trucks to remove them from the scene, authorities said.
Before their car was towed, James and his girlfriend were permitted to retrieve items from the vehicle, authorities said. But as the tow trucks were about to tow James's vehicle, he continued to approach the car, authorities said.
The officers told James to back away from the vehicle for his own safety, but James refused, ignored their commands and ultimately pushed them, authorities said.
The officers told James he was being placed under arrest, but trial testimony revealed that he continued to physically resist arrest, pushing the officers and flailing his arms, authorities said. All three officers were finally able to subdue James and arrest him, authorities said.
James was placed in the back of a police vehicle and transported to the Orange police station for processing, authorities said.
After getting out of the vehicle, one officer discovered a prescription bottle in the back seat bearing James's name and address, authorities said. The bottle was later found to contain 65 tiny baggies of crack/cocaine and 10 envelopes of heroin, authorities said.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
