Las Vegas Man Sentenced To Over Seven Years In Prison For Assaulting A Federal Officer

U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Nevada
5 March 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A Las Vegas man who was convicted by a jury for using his car as a dangerous weapon as he attempted to flee from law enforcement officers was sentenced today to 92 months in prison and three years of supervised release, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich of the District of Nevada.

Brian Keith Wright, aka “Calione,” 34, was found guilty following a two-day trial in August 2018, of assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon, assault on a federal officer with intent to commit another felony, and assault on a federal officer. In sentencing Wright, U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey stated that the 92-month sentence was necessary because of the defendant’s “flagrant disrespect for the law” and the safety of the community.

In February 2016, Wright was placed on federal supervised release as part of his sentence arising from a separate felony conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. In February 2017, members of the FBI’s Las Vegas Safe Streets Task Force attempted to execute an arrest warrant issued by a federal judge for alleged violations of Wright’s supervised release conditions along with a state search warrant for Wright’s residence. Upon arriving at the residence, law enforcement knocked and announced their presence. Wright failed to open the door causing law enforcement to force entry into the house. As they were doing so, Wright attempted to flee the residence in his BMW sedan by pulling out of the garage in an erratic manner. Seeing that his escape route was partially blocked by an officer’s vehicle, Wright continued to reverse his vehicle until he struck the officer’s car, causing the officer to quickly move out of the way to avoid being struck. Wright initially refused to comply with officers’ commands to stop and exit his vehicle after he was surrounded by task force members with their weapons drawn. After finally complying with the officers’ commands, Wright was arrested.

The case was investigated by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nadia Ahmed and Alexandra Michael prosecuted the case.