Press Release
FUGITIVE PLEADS GUILTY TO CHARGES OF ASSAULT ON LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS
July 6, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jeffrey H. Sloman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Brett L. Tolman, United States Attorney for the District of Utah, Fred Burnside, Director, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training, Maureen O'Mara, Special Agent in Charge of EPA's Criminal Enforcement Office in Atlanta, and Hugo J. Barrera, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, announced that defendant Larkin Baggett, 55, formerly of Salt Lake City, Utah, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court in Key West, FL, to charges in connection with his armed assault on federal and local law enforcement officers, illegally possessing firearms while he was a fugitive from the District of Utah, and on the underlying Utah Indictment charging him with environmental violations.
In the Florida-based matter, Baggett pled guilty to possessing eight firearms, including assault rifles, while a fugitive from justice in Utah, three Counts of assaulting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Special Agents, and one count related to assaulting a Monroe County deputy sheriff, all using a deadly and dangerous weapon, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 111 and 922(g). Baggett also entered guilty pleas on two of the Counts brought against him in Utah (transferred to South Florida pursuant to Rule 20 of the Federal Criminal Rules), which charged he violated an effluent standard, pretreatment standard, and prohibition, and that he illegally disposed of hazardous waste without a permit, in violation of Title 33, United States Code, Sections 1319(c)(2)(A), 1317(d), 40 C.F.R. § 403.5(b)(2), Title 42, United States Code, Section 6928(d)(2)(A), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.
U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore, who accepted Baggett’s guilty pleas, set sentencing for October 14, 2009, at 9:30 a.m. At sentencing, Baggett faces a maximum term of imprisonment of up to 10 years on the fugitive in possession of a firearm charge and up to 20 years on each of the four charges of assaulting a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon. On the transferred Utah charges, he also faces a statutory maximum term of imprisonment of up to three years on the Clean Water Act violation and up to five years on the hazardous waste disposal charge. All the charges may also be followed by a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. In addition to the terms of imprisonment and supervised release, the court may impose a fine and may order restitution.
According to the Indictments, court documents, and statements at the plea hearing, defendant Baggett was awaiting trial on the environmental violations in the District of Utah, United States v. Larkin Baggett, Case No. 2:07-00619-001-DAK. He became a fugitive from justice in the spring of 2008, approximately two months before his pending trial. As a standard condition of his pre-trial release while awaiting trial in Utah, Larkin was prohibited from possessing any firearms. He was personally warned by a Magistrate Judge of this restriction and was ordered to divest himself of any firearms. Federal statutes also specifically prohibit a fugitive from possessing firearms. When arrested on March 10, 2009, in Marathon, FL, Baggett possessed four rifles and four pistols of various calibers. EPA and ATF Special Agents tracked each of the weapons, locating the gun stores that sold the firearms and the accompanying federal firearms forms, and determined they had all been purchased by Baggett or acquaintances of his, prior to his Indictment in Utah.
At the hearing, Baggett admitted that on March 10,2009, when EPA Special Agents, supported by Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Deputies, located Baggett in Marathon and attempted to execute an arrest warrant, he brandished a .308 caliber Bushmaster semi-automatic assault rifle to threaten, impede, and intimidate the Special Agents and the accompanying Monroe County Deputies. Baggett had equipped the assault rifle with two thirty-round magazines of ammunition, taped together for quick reload. According to in-court statements, Baggett failed to obey commands from law enforcement to show his hands. When Baggett attempted to aim at one or more of the officers, the officers opened fire in self-defense and seriously wounded Baggett. The agents gave Baggett first-aid.
Mr. Sloman stated, “ Federal and state law enforcement officers risk their lives to make our communities safer. Anyone who endangers the life and safety of these dedicated public servants, especially through the illegal use of firearms, can expect to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Brett L. Tolman, United States Attorney for the District of Utah, stated, “Mr. Baggett’s actions show the need to eliminate from our vocabulary the phrase, ‘it’s just environmental crime.’ Mr. Baggett’s actions endangered the public by dumping hazardous waste into the environment and endangered law enforcement by putting them in the cross-hairs of harm’s way. Through cooperation between this Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida, the U.S. Marshals, and local law enforcement in Florida, Mr. Baggett has been brought to justice. This Office, and our counterparts across the nation, will continue to tirelessly work and cooperate to ensure that stories like Mr. Baggett’s do not happen again.”
“EPA special agents are dedicated law enforcement professionals who put their lives on the line everyday to protect public health and the environment,” said Fred Burnside, Director of EPA's Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training. “Today's action sends a clear message to anyone who would consider harming an agent in the line of duty.”
“After committing environmental crimes, Baggett ran from the law, then assaulted the enforcement officers who came to arrest him,” said Maureen O'Mara, Special Agent in Charge of EPA's Criminal Enforcement Office in Atlanta. “Baggett's efforts to escape justice and threaten our officers only made things worse for him.”
“This case clearly illustrates the inherent dangers faced by federal, state, and local law enforcement officers every day, as they strive to enforce the laws and keep our communities safe,” stated Hugo Barrera, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF in Miami. “This blatant contempt for the rule of law is unacceptable to the law enforcement agencies responsible for protecting our communities, and it should be unacceptable to the law abiding citizens of this great nation."
U.S. Attorneys Sloman and Tolman commended the coordinated investigative efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Marshal’s Service, which brought the matter to a successful conclusion. This case was prosecuted in South Florida by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jodi Mazer, who is also a Regional Criminal Enforcement Counsel with EPA, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald. In the District of Utah, the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared C. Bennett.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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