Third Defendant Pleads Guilty to Assault in Drive-By Shooting Involving FBI Agent

CINCINNATI—Deante Martell, 23, of Cincinnati pleaded guilty in United States District Court here today to one count of assault on a federal officer and one count of discharging a firearm in connection with a federal crime. The charges stem from a March 25, 2009 shooting where assailants fired approximately 15 shots into the car of an FBI agent.

William E. Hunt, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge of the Cincinnati Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas H. Streicher, Jr. announced the plea entered before Senior U.S. District Judge Sandra S. Beckwith.

Two others involved in the shooting have entered guilty pleas and are awaiting sentencing. Robert Coker, 25, of Cincinnati pleaded guilty on June 8, 2009 to assault and discharging a firearm. Kenny Davis, 43, of Cincinnati pleaded guilty on June 10, 2009 to one count of assault.

The assault charge carries a potential 20-year sentence followed by three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Discharging a firearm in commission of a crime is punishable by a mandatory minimum 10 years' imprisonment and up to life, consecutive to whatever he receives for the assault. Judge Beckwith will schedule a date for sentencing.

Cincinnati Police officers and FBI agents arrested Coker on Friday, March 27, and Davis on Monday March 30, 2009. Martell surrendered at a Cincinnati Police District 5 substation Tuesday night, March 31.

The shooting occurred on Pasadena Avenue in the North College Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati. The agent was injured by debris from the shooting.

Hunt commended the cooperative investigation by FBI agents and Cincinnati Police officers, along with Assistant U.S Attorneys Tim Oakley, Karl Kadon, and Tim Mangan, who are prosecuting the case.