Woman sentenced nearly 8 years for role in injuring El Cajon officer

EL CAJON, Calif. (CNS) - A woman who had a role in injuring an El Cajon police officer, who was dragged about 200 yards down a roadway by an SUV, was sentenced Tuesday to seven years and eight months in state prison.

Keani Flores, 30, pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and other charges for injuring Officer Nicholas Cirello on Dec. 14, 2020.

Cirello suffered serious injuries after investigating an SUV parked in a resident's driveway. Flores and co-defendant David Pangilinan, 43, were asleep inside.

Pangilinan was accused of speeding away while Cirello was speaking with the defendants, while prosecutors say Flores pried Cirello's hands from the SUV's windowsill as it was moving, causing him to fall from the vehicle along West Washington Avenue. He suffered injuries that included a traumatic brain injury and broken bones, which left him hospitalized for nearly a week.

Flores was arrested about a week later in the Madera County city of Oakhurst.

Pangilinan was at large for nearly a month until he was arrested in Los Angeles. Pangilinan also pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and was sentenced last year to nearly nine years in state prison.