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WILKES-BARRE — A Hazleton man at the center of a manhunt earlier this year was sentenced to up to 10 years in state prison on unrelated charges Wednesday after police discovered a sawed-off shotgun and handgun in his vehicle.
Alejandro Gross de la Cruz, 19, was sentenced to five to 10 years on two separate felony counts of possession of a firearm with an altered serial number, as well as a misdemeanor count of repairing or selling offensive weapons as a result of the traffic stop on West Sixth Street in Hazleton on Oct. 28.
Police observed the weapons on the passenger-side floor of the vehicle, according to an affidavit. Both had their serial numbers etched off. Gross de la Cruz pleaded guilty to the charges June 12.
In April, Gross de la Cruz was apprehended after a vehicle chase and extensive manhunt that played out on Ashley streets following a shooting a day earlier in Hazleton, police said.
Officers patrolling the area of Hazleton Area High School on April 27 were flagged down by a person who said a window on their vehicle was struck by a large-caliber bullet.
A pursuit was initiated the next day after police learned the vehicle was registered to Gross de la Cruz. The chase continued — with helicopters looming overhead — into Ashley and onto Route 309 near Interstate 81. An officer eventually spotted Gross de la Cruz and two other men hiding in a crawl space along the foundation of Ashley Presbyterian Church.
Gross de la Cruz was charged with aggravated assault and simple assault in that incident.