A Bristol man who opened fire on law enforcement as they tried to execute a federal search warrant at his home will serve 30 years in federal prison, prosecutors said.
John Caleb Allen, 26, previously had been convicted on 10 counts in all, including the attempted murder of federal law enforcement officers. Jack Heekin, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the sentencing in a June 5 news release.
According to previous reporting, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives agents and Liberty County Sheriff’s Office deputies went to Allen’s home last July to serve the warrant. They had been investigating him “for the illegal sale of machine gun conversion devices,” prosecutors said.
Allen reportedly “shot approximately 14 times” at the officers but he was arrested without the agents having to return fire, they added. Some did suffer “minor, non-critical injuries as a result of the assault.”
Specifically, “one of the officers had a bullet pass through his shirtsleeve and another officer was struck by a bullet in the body armor,” a previous release said. Agents also located numerous firearms, including an unregistered firearm silencer, during their search of the home.
The counts Allen was sentenced for include:
Chief U.S. District Judge Allen C. Winsor sentenced Allen on May 21, including a $1,000 “special monetary assessment,” a mandatory cost imposed on anyone convicted of a federal crime.
Allen filed a notice of appeal on June 5, court dockets show.
Some reporting in this story was previously published. Jim Rosica can be reached at jrosica@tallahassee.com. Follow him on X: @JimRosicaFL.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Big Bend man sentenced to 30 years for shooting at deputies, feds
Reporting by Jim Rosica, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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By Jim Rosica, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
