LANSING, MI — A 30-year-old Lansing man will spend the next 15 years in federal prison after shooting a police officer with a gun he wrestled away during a traffic stop.
Andrial Ortiz was sentenced Tuesday for being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey.
"Andrial Ortiz was a felon who was not allowed to possess a gun, and the moment he did he used it to shoot a police officer," VerHey said. "My office was happy to prosecute this case. We accept the 15-year sentence as a just response. I hope everyone reading this will take a minute to remember and appreciate that we ask law enforcement officers to risk their lives on a regular basis."
The incident began when police pulled Ortiz over while investigating a road rage incident. Ortiz was on parole for selling drugs, unarmed robbery, and larceny at the time. During a search of his vehicle, officers found drugs.
When police attempted to arrest Ortiz, he violently resisted. During the struggle, he managed to remove guns from two officers' waistbands and fired one of the weapons, striking a patrol officer in the leg.
"Ortiz's conduct was reckless, violent, and showed a complete disregard for the lives of the officers involved," said ATF Detroit Field Division Special Agent in Charge James Deir.
"As a convicted felon, he was prohibited from possessing firearms, yet this defendant violently resisted arrest, disarmed officers, and fired a weapon, seriously injuring a patrol officer," Deir said. "This sentence reflects the seriousness of that violence and sends the right message to drug trafficking convicted felons in our community who attack law enforcement: if you do this, pack your bags because you're going to prison for an extended period of time."
The Michigan State Police, Lansing Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Olivia Ghiselli and Jonathan Roth prosecuted it.
The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and communities to reduce violent crime and gun violence. The Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy in May 2021 strengthening the program based on fostering trust in communities, supporting community-based violence prevention organizations, setting focused enforcement priorities, and measuring results.
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