Third Defendant Sentenced for Assault in Drive-By Shooting Involving FBI Agent

CINCINNATI—Deante Martell, 23, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in United States District Court here today to 177 months' imprisonment for his role in the March 25, 2009 shooting where assailants fired approximately 15 shots into the car of an FBI agent.

Carter M. Stewart, 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 sentence handed down today by Senior U.S. District Judge Sandra S. Beckwith.

Martell pleaded guilty on September 29, 2009 to one count of assault on a federal officer and one count of discharging a firearm in connection with a federal crime.

Two others involved in the shooting entered guilty pleas. Robert Coker, 25, of Cincinnati pleaded guilty on June 8, 2009 to assault and discharging a firearm. He was sentenced on December 15, 2009 to 144 months in prison. Kenny Davis, 43, of Cincinnati pleaded guilty on June 10, 2009 to one count of assault. He was sentenced on November 30, 2009 to 70 months' imprisonment.

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.

Stewart 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 prosecuted the case.