EL CAJON, Calif.—A man who drove an SUV while an El Cajon police officer clung to the window, dragging the lawman about 200 yards and causing him serious injuries, was sentenced Aug. 26 to nearly nine years in state prison.
David Pangilinan, 43, pleaded guilty earlier this year to assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer for dragging Officer Nick Cirello along West Washington Avenue on Dec. 14, 2020. His co-defendant, 29-year-old Keani Flores, awaits trial.
Cirello initially responded to the scene because the defendants were asleep in the SUV, which was parked in a resident’s driveway.
Pangilinan was charged with speeding away while Cirello was speaking with the defendants. Flores is accused of removing Cirello’s hands from the SUV’s windowsill, causing him to fall from the vehicle….