NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Clarksville man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison as the result of an incident that occurred in February 2013 in which he fired a handgun at Clarksville police officers.
Levi West, 35, of Palmyra, Tennessee was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2018 on charges of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and being a violent felon in possession of body armor. He then pleaded guilty in December and was sentenced on Friday.
In addition to past convictions for a number of crimes including robbery, aggravated assault and aggravated burglary, West also has a history of violent interactions with law enforcement dating back to 2001.
- When West was 17, he assaulted and threatened to kill arresting officers
- In 2005, West assaulted a Virginia State Trooper
- In 2006, West assaulted another Virginia police officer
- When West was 25, after violating a protective order, he assaulted a sheriff’s deputy and threatened to kill his family and dog
- At age 33, while a member of the Outlaws Gang, West and two others beat an inmate to death
- When West was 34, he assaulted a probation officer
- And while incarcerated awaiting trial in this case, he struck two sheriff’s deputies in the face multiple times.
For these and other convictions, West received mostly probationary sentences in the state system, with relatively short sentences over the past decade.
However, while West was facing 10 years in prison, in sentencing him, U.S. District Court Judge William L. Campbell, Jr., found that West qualified as an Armed Career Criminal and was subject to enhanced punishment which led to him being sentenced to 20 years in prison.
“Assaults against our law enforcement officers will be reviewed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and when appropriate, as in this case, we will bring federal charges and vigorously pursue lengthy prison sentences as we have here,” said U.S. Attorney Don Cochran.
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