Tioga County Man Sentenced to 25 Months for Assaulting Federal Officers

U.S. Attorney’s Office
Northern District of New York
26 July 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK – William Surmik, age 24, of Apalachin, New York, was sentenced today to serve 25 months in prison and a 3 year term of supervised release for his previously entered guilty pleas to Assaulting, Resisting, and Impeding Federal Law Enforcement Officers, announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith, Charles Margiotta, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), David L. McNulty, United States Marshal for Northern District of New York, George P. Beach, II, Superintendent of the New York State Police, and John A. Butler, Vestal Chief of Police.

In pleading guilty, Surmik admitted that in March of 2017 he was a parole absconder from the state of Ohio staying in the Apalachin, New York area. On March 7, 2017, Deputy U.S. Marshals and several members of the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force approached a residence in Apalachin, New York in order to execute an arrest warrant for Surmik. Upon seeing the Marshals, Surmik fled the scene in a truck and rammed a vehicle operated by federal task force officers. Surmik then led officers on a high-speed chase through backcountry roads, which resulted in a crash between Surmik’s truck and task force officers. A member of the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force was seriously injured during the arrest of Surmik.

This joint investigation was conducted by the FBI, U.S. Marshal’s Service, New York State Police, and the Vestal Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Miroslav Lovric.