Defendant Sentenced for Shooting Sheriff’s Deputy

DATE: August 26, 2020

CASE:  Nicory Spann (Case #17FE012187)

PROSECUTOR:  Deputy District Attorney Kristen Andersen, Homicide Unit

The Honorable Geoffrey Goodman sentenced Nicory Spann to 32 years to life in prison.  On July 23, 2020, a jury convicted Spann of the attempted murder of a police officer and assault with a semi-automatic firearm on a police officer.  The jury also found true the allegation that Spann intentionally discharged a firearm causing great bodily injury on both counts.

On June 27, 2017, Nicory Spann confronted and yelled profanities at a sheriff’s deputy at the light rail station on Watt Avenue and Interstate Avenue.  Spann did not have a valid light rail ticket and was in an area of the station which required a valid ticket. When the deputy attempted to write Spann a citation, Spann lunged at the deputy and attempted to punch him. Within seconds, Spann grabbed the deputy’s gun out of his holster and shot the deputy in the face at point blank range. Spann tried to shoot the deputy a second time but missed.  The injured deputy radioed for help and yelled for bystanders to take cover. An individual on the light rail immediately exited the train and provided aid to the injured deputy. Spann ran from the scene and barricaded himself inside the Red Roof Inn on Watt Avenue. After a 3½ hour standoff, Spann was detained in the parking lot of the Inn. The deputy was taken to a hospital and admitted into the Intensive Care Unit.  He remained at the hospital for 11 days and survived the gunshot wound.

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