PENSACOLA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FEDERAL CHARGES FOR ATTEMPTING TO KILL AN ESCAMBIA COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPUTY

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Darrion K. Finley, 21, of Pensacola, Florida, has pled guilty in federal court on charges related to a shooting incident in late 2024. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the guilty plea.

The Indictment charged Finley with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Attempting to Kill an Escambia County Sheriff’s Deputy to Prevent Certain Communications, and Discharging a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “This case shows the deadly threats our brave men and women in law enforcement face every day as they fight to remove violent criminals from our communities. My office remains firmly committed to aggressively prosecuting those violent offenders, and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with our law enforcement partners in the fight to keep our streets safe.”

Court documents reveal that on December 17, 2024, the defendant was driving in Pensacola in a stolen vehicle.  When the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office attempted to conduct a traffic stop of the defendant, he accelerated and law enforcement began its vehicle pursuit.  The defendant was eventually stopped when a Deputy Sheriff conducted a precision immobilization technique on the stolen vehicle.  As the defendant and his vehicle were being stopped, he fired a 9 millimeter round into the Deputy’s vehicle.  The defendant then attempted to escape on foot, with his Glock 9 millimeter pistol and loaded extended magazine still in hand, but the Deputy released his K9 partner, who put the defendant down onto the ground.  The defendant, still armed, then tried to run but was shot by the Deputy.  The defendant survived his wounds and was thereafter indicted by a federal grand jury for his crimes.

Sentencing is scheduled on January 13, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. before United States District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II.  Finley faces up to life imprisonment.  

The case is being jointly investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office; the State Attorney’s Office; and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David L. Goldberg and Jessica S. Etherton.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.