- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
REGIONAL: Ukiah man who attempted to shoot deputy gets 183-year sentence
NORTH COAST, Calif. – A Ukiah man who in February 2013 attempted to kill a Mendocino County Sheriff's deputy has received a sentence of 183 years to life.
On Monday Mendocino County Superior Court Judge John Behnke handed down the state prison sentence to 43-year-old Walter Kristopher Miller.
Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster prosecuted Miller, who was convicted of attempting to shoot Deputy Darren Brewster on Feb. 25, 2013, as Lake County News has reported.
Miller and an accomplice, Christopher Skaggs, confronted Brewster during a late-night traffic stop in Ukiah, according to the law enforcement report on the incident.
After the initial stop, Skaggs and Miller fled, with Miller leaning out of the window at one point and shooting several times at Brewster's patrol car, sheriff's officials said.
Skaggs would be taken into custody the day after the incident, with Miller surrendering following a negotiation with a law enforcement team at a Ukiah hotel two days after the shooting and chase.
The Mendocino County District Attorney's Office said a jury convicted Miller of the attempted murder of Brewster, two separate residential burglaries, threatening a witness by threat of force and felon in possession of a firearm.
Miller is a former Sonoma County resident who has a lengthy prior criminal record that includes 11 prior felony convictions and at least three prior prison commitments, which meant that California's Three Strikes law came into play to enhance his final sentence, according to Eyster's office.
Last month, Skaggs received a 13-year prison sentence after he reached a plea agreement with Eyster's office in which an attempted murder charge was dropped but he was required to plead guilty to first-degree burglary.
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