Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Plymouth Township Chief of Police John C. Myrsiades announced today the arrest of Dalton Lee Janiczek, 21, of Lower Gwynedd, for the attempted murder of a Plymouth Township police officer on Friday, October 24 in Plymouth Township.

According to the report, a Whitpain Township police sergeant attempted to stop a white Mercedes G-Wagon at 11:56am yesterday when the vehicle sped erratically away and crossed over the concrete median along Skippack Pike.

At 12:39pm, a Plymouth Township police officer responded to the Doubletree Guest Suites Hotel in Plymouth Township in search of the vehicle. The responding officer found the Mercedes parked in the lot and activated his emergency lights. The driver, Janiczek, put the car in reverse and struck the patrol vehicle several times. The officer got out of the car and told Janiczek to stop, at which point Janiczek accelerated directly at the officer, attempting to hit him, the DA said.

The officer discharged his firearm and Janiczek again accelerated the vehicle, striking the officer and causing him to fall. As the officer attempted to administer a tourniquet to a leg wound, the Mercedes circled back around the lot and struck the officer three more times as he lay on the ground.

Janiczek then led Plymouth Township officers on a short pursuit before striking a stopped Plymouth patrol vehicle head-on and injuring a second officer.

He was taken into custody with a wound to the head and treated at Abington Hospital, where he was cleared and transported to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

Both officers were transported to the hospital, where the first officer underwent emergency surgery, and both are in stable condition, the DA said.

Janiczek is charged with multiple felonies, including Attempted Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer, Aggravated Assault, Fleeing or Attempting to Elude a Police Officer and related charges. A preliminary hearing is scheduled at 10:15am on November 4.

Per protocol, all officer-involved shootings are investigated by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau, which responded to the scene.

Photo: Montco DA