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Hector Ortiz entered a guilty plea on Thursday, Nov. 17 to second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun in exchange for a five-year term of state prison where he must serve three and one-half years before being eligible for parole, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.
On Dec. 13, 2021, detectives of the Atlantic City Police Department responded to 2519 Pacific Ave., after they received information that a man was in possession of a firearm in the convenience store located at that address, the prosecutor said.
Police began to surveil the convenience store where they observed a man identified as Hector Ortiz matching a specific description given earlier.
Ortiz was observed frequently grabbing and adjusting the interior of his jacket pocket which appeared to contain a large bulge, the prosecutor said.
Detectives identified themselves to Ortiz and ordered him to stop. Ortiz disregarded police orders and began to flee west on Pacific Avenue. Ortiz was advised he was under arrest, but he continued to run. He was eventually apprehended in the area of Brighton and Pacific Avenues. Ortiz surrendered to police, notifying them he was in possession of a firearm. The defendant was taken into custody and an unloaded revolver was recovered in his interior jacket pocket.
He is due to be sentenced on Jan. 5, 2023.
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