A man who shot an off-duty Tarrant County sheriff’s deputy in 2023 was sentenced Thursday to 95 years in prison.
Leland Williams, 37, pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated assault against a public servant for the shooting that took place on Nov. 27, 2023, as deputy Brent Brown worked off-duty security at a Fort Worth bank. Williams initially faced a charge of attempted capital murder of a peace officer.
A release from the Tarrant County district attorney’s office said Williams got up from a seat in the lobby of the bank, approached Brown and opened fire at nearly point-blank range. Officials called the shooting “unprovoked” in the release.
Brown was shot in the abdomen and chest, but survived and has since returned to active duty, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
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Williams fled the scene of the shooting and was later apprehended after he barricaded himself in a home.
“This sentence sends a clear message: attacks on our peace officers will not be tolerated,” Tarrant County DA Phil Sorrells said in the release. “We stand shoulder to shoulder with law enforcement to keep Tarrant County safe.”