A former Anne Arundel County Police officer will serve 120 days in jail after he admitted Thursday that he chased a motorcyclist into Howard County and then fled after the man died in a crash.

Alexander Rodriguez pleaded guilty in Howard County Circuit Court to one count of failing to remain at the scene of an accident resulting in death.

Circuit Court Judge Maurice C. Frazier is set to sentence him on April 20 to serve five years, with all but 120 days suspended, plus two years’ supervised probation.

As part of the plea agreement, Rodriguez, 31, will have to perform 100 hours of community service and not seek a career in law enforcement.

“No one who endangers lives and then abandons a crash that resulted in a man’s death on the side of the road should be allowed to wear a police uniform,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a statement. “We cannot keep our communities safe if we do not hold people accountable when they break the law.”

Rodriguez’s attorney, Peter Fayne, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Anne Arundel County Police spokesperson Justin Mulcahy said in an email that Rodriguez is no longer employed by the department.

Joshua VanderZiel, 21, of Laurel, died in the crash, which happened Aug. 10, 2024.

At about 4 a.m., Rodriguez, who was driving a police cruiser, began pursuing VanderZiel in Anne Arundel County, the Maryland Office of the Attorney General reported. The chase turned into a “high-speed pursuit” that traversed Prince George’s County and ended 4 miles into Howard County.

Rodriguez never activated his emergency lights or sirens, despite driving twice the posted speed limit, prosecutors alleged. He also neglected to notify dispatch of the pursuit or seek permission to engage in the chase, which was required under police procedures.

Following the crash, Rodriguez stopped, made a U-turn and took off, the attorney general’s office reported.

“He did not notify anyone or make a report of the collision, he did not remain on scene, and did not give aid,” prosecutors said. “He returned to Anne Arundel County and continued his shift.”

In fact, the attorney general’s office did not even begin investigating until four days later. That’s because it wasn’t immediately clear to detectives with the Howard County Police Department’s Accident Investigation Unit that a police officer was involved in the fatal crash.

Rodriguez’s case was the second brought by the Independent Investigations Division, which reviews all incidents in which police officers are involved in a death and brings prosecutions when appropriate.

A judge threw out the division’s first case, which was against two Anne Arundel County Police officers charged in a deadly pursuit. That, along with broader dysfunction, led to the ouster of the unit’s top two prosecutors.

VanderZiel grew up in Wichita, Kansas, and served as a Russian linguist for the U.S. Navy in Baltimore, according to his obituary.

Loved ones described him as honest and kind, adding that he had “an endless desire for knowledge and a confident adventurous spirit.”