A New York man who led police from Greater Morristown on a 70 mph chase through suburban streets early in the pandemic pleaded guilty on Friday and is likely to receive probation.
Tamas Knecht, 45, was arrested at gunpoint outside the Kings supermarket in Morristown in April 2020, and then promptly released by authorities. He pled to a third-degree charge of eluding police, during a virtual hearing before Superior Court Judge David Ironson.
The offense carries maximum penalties of five years in prison and $15,000 in fines, the judge said.
Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Alexis Keller is recommending five years’ probation. Public Defender Elizabeth Martin will ask for one year when Knecht is sentenced next month. A $500 penalty is mandatory, Judge Ironson said.
The charge was downgraded from second-degree eluding. The other count from Knecht’s May 2021 indictment–a third-degree charge of receiving stolen property (a Honda CRV from New York) — was dismissed as part of the plea deal.
Terms include completing treatment for a traumatic brain injury. Knecht phoned into Friday’s hearing from a Florida program, where he’s been since the April 4, 2020, incident, Martin told the judge.
Ironson had issued a warrant for Knecht’s arrest when he failed to appear for a virtual hearing last July. Details of Knecht’s injury were not disclosed on Friday.
Last year’s chase began shortly before 7 am on a Saturday morning. Morristown police responded to a report that a man in a white Honda with New York plates had stiffed a Morris Street gas station for a $22.02 fill-up. The vehicle had been reported stolen in New York earlier that morning.
An officer pulled over the Honda near Domino’s Pizza on Speedwell Avenue. Ignoring an order to exit the vehicle, the driver sped off, leading police through Morris Township, Morris Plains and Hanover, allegedly hitting 70 mph on 25 mph streets.
Around 8 am that morning, Knecht pulled into Kings on South Street. Law enforcement from several agencies swooped in, and shoppers reported a tense standoff near the store entrance.
“I saw police screaming, ‘Get on the ground! We’re going to shoot you, get on the ground,’” a woman who was in the checkout line recounted later to Morristown Green.
Questioned Friday by the public defender, Knecht acknowledged failing to pull over.
“And instead you drove that motor vehicle in a reckless manner, is that correct?” Martin asked.
“Correct,” Knecht replied.
“And by doing so you could have caused significant bodily injury to yourself or someone else, is that correct?”
“Correct,” Knecht said.
The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office never has explained its decision to release Knecht on his own recognizance that day.
At the time, jails around the state were releasing nonviolent offenders, under a court order, in hopes of slowing the spread of COVID-19 in the prison system.
