fairbanks man sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for assault on federal officer
Anchorage, Alaska – United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced that on January 8, 2010, Jarrid Christopher Bloom, a resident of Fairbanks, Alaska, was sentenced in federal court in Fairbanks to 18 years and 4 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release for his conviction of assaulting a federal officer and using a firearm in a crime of violence.
Chief United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline imposed the sentence on Bloom, 24, who has been residing in the Fairbanks Correctional Center since his arrest in July 2009. Bloom was convicted of the offenses after entering a plea of guilty on October 29, 2009.
According to information presented to the court by Assistant United States Attorney Stephen Cooper, Bloom was apprehended in the garage of the federal building in Fairbanks at 2:36 a.m. on July 7, 2009, while in the act of unlawfully entering a parked vehicle belonging to a federal employee. While he was restrained and about to be handcuffed, Bloom struck the arresting officer, a federal building security guard, seriously injuring the officer’s eye. Bloom took the officer’s weapon, fired a random shot, fled the scene, and was arrested by Fairbanks Police officers within a short distance from the federal building.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Beistline noted that Bloom had an extensive criminal record, especially in view of his young age. The court imposed the statutory mandatory minimum of 10 years for the use of a firearm in a crime of violence. The law requires the sentence for that offense to be consecutive to any other sentence. The sentence imposed for the assault was 8 years and 4 months, to be followed by 10 years for the firearm offense. The court also ordered that Bloom pay restitution to the officer in the amount of $10,500, representing actual financial losses the officer incurred as a result of the injuries Bloom inflicted.
Ms. Loeffler commended the Federal Protective Service and Special Agents Wilbur Hooks and Dustin Smith for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Bloom.
