Maximum sentence imposed in shooting

A visiting judge sentenced a 43-year-old Adams County man to 52 1/2 years in prison for attempting to kill two sheriff’s deputies, shooting one of them in the chest and leg before being hit by return fire.

Adams County Prosecutor Randy Flyckt asked for an above-standard sentence for Florentino S. Barajas, but he said he thought “justice was served” by the maximum standard sentences imposed Tuesday by Lincoln County Superior Court Judge Philip Borst.

A jury convicted Barajas in December of two counts of attempted first-degree murder for shooting Deputy Jeff Lane with a 9 mm pistol last February and shooting at Deputy Dale Wagner. Wagner and a third deputy returned fire when Lane was shot, hitting Barajas in the right cheek and left wrist.

The shootout occurred after Wagner, recognizing Barajas from a stop the week before, stopped him for driving without a valid license. Barajas took a swing at Wagner and drove to his home near Othello, where he ran into the house and armed himself, court records said.

Lane and Wagner were walking around the house when they found Barajas hiding in a ditch.

Barajas got up and opened fire on Lane, whose bulletproof vest may have saved his life by stopping the bullet that hit his chest, court records said.

Before his trial, Barajas pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Borst gave him a maximum standard four years on that count, but the sentence will be served at the same time as the others.

Flyckt said he hopes the sentence will send a message about attacks on law-enforcement officers.

“This is particularly egregious, because it cuts to the very heart of our society by undermining the rule of law and respect for law enforcement,” the prosecutor said.