Paulding District Attorney Dick Donovan announces that a Dallas man has pleaded guilty to aggravated assault after shooting at a police officer and was given a twenty year sentence.
The lead prosecutor, Senior Assistant District Attorney David Lyles, laid out the facts for the court.
On March 6, 2014, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call for shots being fired and a suspicious vehicle within their jurisdiction. When deputies arrived at the location, the suspects immediately left in a white Ford F150 at a high rate of speed nearly striking one of the patrol cars. A chase ensued and David Anthony Bray, 39, and two other individuals crossed into Paulding County travelling northbound on Highway 61 being chased by Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputies and Villa Rica Police Officers. After crossing into Paulding County, Bray began firing an assault rifle at Villa Rica Officer Kai Waldo.
The suspects’ vehicle turned right onto Ridge Road, then right again on Cohran Store Road, followed by another right turn onto Winn Road passing South Paulding High School. The vehicle then traveled through a subdivision and into a wooded area. When officers reached the truck, both doors were open and the vehicle was running unoccupied. A perimeter was established and all three suspects were taken into custody a short time later.
Judge Dean Bucci, who accepted the negotiated plea, followed Lyles’s recommendation and sentenced Mr. Bray to a twenty year sentence with thirteen years to be served in the state prison system. Attorney John Howe represented the defendant.