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Sgt. Daniel Pagnotta III, a 21-year-veteran of the Trenton Police Department, died in Plainsboro, Trenton's mayor said.
A search for Pagnotta began in the early-morning hours after Hopewell police issued a BOLO alert for a suicidal man, Plainsoro Police Lt. John Bresnen said.
The sergeant was found in the back tailgate space of his Dodge Durango, parked in a business parking lot of College Road around 3:45 a.m., according to Bresnen.
Shortly before Pagnotta was located, six Trenton police officers were injured -- including one critically -- in a wild pursuit of a stolen sedan ending in a major wreck. Three suspects are in custody facing attempted murder, eluding and weapons charges, Casey DeBlasio, a spokesperson with the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, said.
Pagnotta is being remembered as a devoted husband and father of two who loved soccer and making people laugh. His father, Daniel Pagnotta, Jr., is a retired Trenton police officer.
“Beloved by everyone in the Trenton Police Department, he was devoted to Trenton and police work,” Mayor W. Reed Gusciora said in a statement. "He will be dearly missed."
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