A Staunton man who attempted to run over law enforcement officers serving arrest warrants was sentenced last week to 57 months in federal prison.
Richard Lee Knight, 39, pled guilty in June to one count of assault on a federal officer.
According to court documents, the United States Marshals Service Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force discovered that Knight, who was wanted on several fugitive warrants out of various jurisdictions in Virginia, was staying at a motel in the Charlottesville area.
Local law enforcement, in conjunction with CARFTF, located Knight in a Walmart parking lot on the morning of Nov. 29, 2021 near his Mercedes Benz vehicle. When a law enforcement officer moved in to arrest him by issuing an order to “show me your hands, don’t move,” Knight refused the order and entered his car instead.
Knight drove his Mercedes in reverse, striking both a CARFTF officer and a police vehicle, then drove forward, ramming into a second police vehicle.
After fleeing the scene, Knight led law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase through Albemarle County before being apprehended after crashing his vehicle on Interstate 64.
As a result of Knight’s actions, a CARFTF officer suffered cuts, bruises, back injuries, and a concussion.
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