Press Release
FUGITIVE SENTENCED TO 240 MONTHS FOR AGGRAVATED ASSAULT ON LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS
October 14, 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 was sentenced today in United States District Court in Key West, Florida, by the Honorable K. Michael Moore, to a total term of 240 months imprisonment, for his armed assault of law enforcement officers, for illegally possessing firearms while he was a fugitive from the District of Utah, and for an underlying Utah Indictment charging him with environmental violations.
In the Florida based aggravated assault case, Baggett was sentenced to 141 months imprisonment, a consecutive term of 84 months for the illegal possession of eight firearms while a fugitive from justice and an additional 15 months because the Florida crimes were committed while on bond in the Utah case. With respect to the Utah environmental case, the judge ordered the defendant to serve a concurrent 96 month term which represents the statutory maximum sentence under the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. He is also responsible for restitution in the amount of $39,000 for losses caused to the operator of the Publicly Owned Treatment Works in Utah, which was harmed by the defendant’s toxic discharges.
In explaining the substantial sentence being imposed today, Judge Moore specifically noted that Baggett had demonstrated a contempt for the law over a sustained period of time, and that Baggett placed himself, the enforcement officers, and private citizens living and working in the area of the confrontation at risk by his behavior. The judge noted that without a significant sentence, he would have no reasonable assurance that Baggett would be deterred from future crimes or that the case would promote respect for the law by others inclined to commit environmental violations and to confront law enforcement officers.
According to the Indictments, court documents, and statements made in court, 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. Two months before his pending trial, he became a fugitive from justice. 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 his July change of plea 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. Baggett 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. Prior to fleeing Utah, Baggett had told friends that he would not go back to jail and instead would “go down in a blaze of glory.”
Mr. Sloman stated, “The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida has a proven track record of aggressively prosecuting anyone who intentionally jeopardizes the lives of our law enforcement partners. Today’s sentence demonstrates our commitment and the Court’s outrage over this conduct.”
“Today’s sentence is appropriate given the serious nature of Mr. Baggett’s conduct. From his unlawful disposal of hazardous and corrosive waste in Utah, his decision to flee from justice in Utah, and ultimately his assault on officers attempting to arrest him in Florida, Mr. Baggett has demonstrated that those who commit environmental crimes can be just as dangerous as other violent criminals. We express our appreciation to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami, agents of the Environmental Protection Agency, and law enforcement personnel in southern Florida who worked to bring Mr. Baggett to justice,” said U.S. Attorney for Utah Brett L. Tolman.
“EPA’s professional and dedicated law enforcement special agents are the ‘line in the sand’ against those who put illegal gain ahead of public health and the environment,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “EPA will continue to vigorously pursue criminal violations of environmental regulations.”
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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