Man who dragged officer at NJ military base sentenced to 33 months

🔴 Hal Wander sped onto the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst without stopping at security

🔴 He rammed into military police vehicles

🔴 One of the officers was dragged when he reached into the vehicle to grab the keys

A Florida man who ran down two Air Force police officers at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst was sentenced to three years in prison.

Hal Wander, 25, of Port Charlotte, Florida, sped onto the base at the Fort Dix entrance without stopping at a security checkpoint and was chased by the military police officers.

Wander rammed into a marked vehicle positioned in front to stop him and then threw it into reverse, hitting a vehicle behind him.

Dragging an officer

While Wander's vehicle was stopped, one of the officers reached into the driver's side in an attempt to grab the keys. Wander went forward for several feet, dragging the officer until he was able to free himself from the vehicle.

Wander continued to drive on the base until he hit a utility pole that disabled the vehicle.

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said did not say why Wander was on the base.

Wander plead guilty in February to two charges of assault on a federal officer using a deadly and dangerous weapon, namely, a motor vehicle. He was sentenced to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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