Repeat Offender Who Shot and Wounded Law Enforcement Officer During Arrest, Sentenced to more than 17 Years in Prison
Defendant had been linked to drive-by shooting in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood
Seattle – A 34-year-old Auburn, Washington man with a lengthy and violent criminal history was sentenced today to 17.5 years in prison for the June 28, 2016 shooting and wounding a law enforcement officer trying to arrest him. RANDY LEE HALL shot a Department of Corrections officer who was working on a federal task force that linked HALL to a dangerous drive-by shooting in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. At the sentencing hearing, Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez said, “there is no doubt in the court’s mind that he has shown no hesitation to use firearms on the streets of Seattle.”
“This defendant proved himself a menace – not only to the public, but to law enforcement officers working to keep all of us safe,” said U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran. “Strikingly, in this case, the officer switched from his firearm to a Taser to try to safely arrest Hall without bloodshed – and for that measured response, he was shot twice in the leg requiring surgery and a lengthy recovery period.”
According to records filed in the case, HALL was linked to a drive by shooting on April 23, 2016 at 14th Avenue and East Madison on Capitol Hill. The shooting, just after 1:00 AM on a busy Saturday night, scattered pedestrians and broke windows at a Seattle University building and a nearby apartment. Seattle Police officers recovered 46 shell casings at the scene. The investigation revealed HALL had been driving the maroon SUV used in the shooting – it was HALL’s car, later found abandoned in West Seattle with two guns inside. One of the guns used in the shooting was linked to nine other shootings – one of them a homicide.
HALL learned from a coconspirator that law enforcement was investigating him for the shooting. As the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) was working on an arrest plan for HALL, he was tipped-off by an associate that police were looking for him. On June 28, 2016, the arrest team made up of federal officers and deputized officers from the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC), went to HALL’s apartment complex and waited for him to leave the apartment. At about 3:00 PM, HALL was spotted walking to his car and the arrest team moved in with guns drawn. Despite multiple instructions from police to get on the ground and show his hands, HALL got into his car and started the ignition. As the arrest team moved in, a DOC officer holstered his gun and prepared his Taser. Just as he fired his Taser at HALL, HALL raised his gun and fired twice at the officer and the agents behind him – striking the DOC officer in the leg twice. The officers returned fire -- striking HALL in the shoulder – both men were hospitalized.
Chief Judge Martinez commended the officer who “tried to use less than lethal force.” The judge ordered HALL to pay $86,803 in restitution for the officer’s medical bills. Following prison HALL will be on supervised release for five years.
On March 25, 2019, HALL pleaded guilty to Assault on a person assisting federal officers, assault of federal officers and using a firearm during a crime of violence.
At the sentencing hearing, Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg noted that, “By his own admission, HALL has been at the center of gang related violence in Seattle for years… He is a leader in the community of violence that he was participating in.”
HALL has prior convictions for robbery, felony domestic violence and possession of methamphetamine.
“The sentence handed down to Mr. Hall is a reflection of his blatant disregard for the rule of law and the lives of law enforcement officers,” said ATF Seattle Special Agent in Charge Darek Pleasants. “Sentences such as this one removes a violent offender from our streets and will hopefully serve as a deterrent to others.”
The case was investigated by the ATF Puget Sound Regional Gun Crime Task Force which includes officers from the Seattle Police Department and the Department of Corrections Community Response Unit. The Auburn and Kent Police Departments assisted in the shooting investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Todd Greenberg and Thomas Woods.
Press contact for the U.S. Attorney’s Office is Communications Director Emily Langlie at (206) 553-4110 or Emily.Langlie@usdoj.gov.
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