Dallas Man Sentenced to 17 Years in Federal Prison on Kidnapping and Firearms Convictions
Defendant Fled from Officers Trying to Serve a Federal Warrant and Forced
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 07, 2012 |
DALLAS—Ronald William Brooks, 40, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn to 17 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in August 2012 to kidnapping and firearms offenses, announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Brooks has been in custody since his arrest in March 2012.
Specifically, Brooks pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping; one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; and one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
According to documents filed in the case, on March 13, 2012, law enforcement officers, who were trying to execute a federal warrant for his arrest, encountered Brooks as he left a room at the Mesquite Inn on Interstate 30 in Mesquite, Texas. Officers approached Brooks and identified themselves as law enforcement officers. Then, in an attempt to flee from the officers, Brooks ran from the motel’s parking lot and scaled a fence. He fled on foot to the Eastfield Plaza apartment complex, which was located behind the motel, and forced his way into an apartment by kicking in the door. At the time, a young woman and her two minor children were inside that apartment.
Brooks brandished two handguns and would not let the woman or her children leave the apartment. He used the woman’s cell phone to make several calls in an effort to facilitate his escape. After approximately seven hours in the apartment, Brooks, who had covered himself in a substance that darkened his skin in an attempt to disguise his appearance, attempted to walk out and enter the woman’s vehicle. He was apprehended in the parking lot before he could get into the vehicle.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Dallas and Mesquite Police Departments. Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Calvert and Assistant U.S. Attorney Phelesa Guy prosecuted.