Vineland Man Convicted of Eluding Police in 2019 Millville Pursuit

A rollover crash at the intersection of South Main Road and Lincoln Avenue in Millville brought a high-speed police pursuit to a violent end on December 7, 2019. For Efrain Dejesus, 43, of Vineland, the legal reckoning took more than six years. A Cumberland County jury convicted him last week on charges of second-degree eluding and fourth-degree obstruction of an investigation.

The pursuit began when Millville officers attempted a routine traffic stop in the 500 block of North 2nd Street. Dejesus ignored commands, drove through multiple traffic control devices, and forced officers to terminate the chase for public safety reasons. The vehicle crashed and rolled over roughly one mile from where the stop had been initiated.

The Millville Police Department's Traffic Safety Unit documented the scene and the surrounding investigation, and that evidence was introduced at trial. Jury selection opened March 25, 2026, and the verdict followed a multi-day proceeding before the Honorable Joseph M. Chiarello, J.S.C., in Cumberland County Superior Court. Assistant Prosecutors Lindsey Seidel and Erin McGlynn handled the case for the state. John Morris, Esquire, represented Dejesus.

The second-degree eluding conviction carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in state prison under New Jersey law. The fourth-degree obstruction conviction adds a maximum exposure of 18 months. The severity of the eluding grade reflects prosecutors' argument that Dejesus created serious risk to the public by fleeing through traffic in a populated area, a standard New Jersey courts apply when a pursuit endangers bystanders.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 2026 before Judge Chiarello. The case underscores how Cumberland County prosecutors have pursued serious criminal exposure in vehicle flight cases where evidence of public endangerment is well-documented, with the Traffic Safety Unit's reconstruction work providing the evidentiary foundation that carried the case through a full jury trial more than six years after the crash.