Zachary Taylor Sheeran has been sentenced to more than seven decades in jail after being convicted of several serious charges, including attempted murder and assault on peace officers.
According to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, the Honorable Alyson Lewis issued the ruling on August 15, and Sheeran was sentenced to 72 years and 4 months to life.
Adriana Garcia, a deputy district attorney with the Major Crimes Unit, prosecuted this case.
Sheeran’s conviction arises from a series of acts committed over five years ago, on August 28, 2021.
The defendant, armed and displaying a level of violence that the court later deemed excessive, compelled a victim to yield binoculars at gunpoint before shooting them in the back, as recounted in the punishment.
According to the court’s findings, Sheeran’s activities did not stop with that first shot.
Faced with the arrival of law authorities, he sought cover in his garage and engaged in a standoff with Sacramento Sheriff’s Office officers.
Sheeran, armed with an unregistered .223 caliber assault weapon, fired nine bullets at two deputies as they approached him across the street.
Despite their full police uniforms, patches, and badges, Sheeran’s attack did not deter the deputies.
Upon conviction, the jury found several claims accurate, underscoring the gravity of the crimes. One of them was the use of a gun, and Sheeran’s violent activities resulted in significant physical harm or the fear of it. Prosecutors also noted that one of the victims of his criminal spree was a peace officer. According to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office, Sheeran’s lengthy sentence is a response to what was described as his “great violence, great bodily harm, threat of great bodily harm, or other acts disclosing a high degree of cruelty, viciousness, or callousness,” and that “the defendant was armed with or used a weapon at the time of the crime.”
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