By Steve Neavling
A Colorado man who struck an ATF agent with his car was sentenced to more than nine years in prison, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Dallas Michael Theiss, 24, was at a 7-Eleven store in April when ATF agents and officers with the Colorado Springs Police Department surrounded his car in an attempt to arrest him.
To evade capture, Theiss accelerated towards an ATF agent who was standing near the doorway of the store.
Theiss struck the agent, who opened fire on Theiss. The agent was injured, and Theiss fled the scene.
Following a brief pursuit, Theiss barricaded himself in a Colorado Springs home for about two hours before he was taken into custody.
A search of his car uncovered two guns.
“This case demonstrates the kind of heroic acts that federal law enforcement officers undertake every day to keep us safe,” Acting U.S. Attorney Matt Kirsch said in a statement. “Taking violent offenders off the street is a dangerous business, and we are grateful no one was killed in this incident.”
ATF Special Agent in Charge David Booth added, “We are fortunate the injuries our agent suffered were not fatal. Through extraordinary bravery and professionalism in the face of imminent danger, this violent criminal was taken into custody without anyone else being harmed. We applaud the United States Attorney’s Office in their success in this case thus removing a violent criminal from our communities.”
