A man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for shooting a U.S. Marshals Service task force officer who was attempting to serve him with a warrant at his southwest Atlanta home, the Department of Justice said Tuesday in a news release.
Titus Bates, 43, was convicted on a slew of federal charges, including assaulting a federal officer, in the November 2013 attack, officials said.
Georgia Department of Corrections
Georgia Department of Corrections
“Bates has no regard for the law or life. He is a seven-time convicted felon who nearly killed officers attempting to arrest him and search his residence,” U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak said in a statement. “We are thankful that the Marshals Service Task Force Officer survived the shooting and we are reminded of the dangers our law enforcement partners encounter every day.”
Bates was in his home when U.S. Marshals officers attempted to serve him with an arrest warrant and search his home, officials said. But when an entry team knocked on the door and announced its presence, Bates did not answer.
He fired two shots as the team attempted to enter. One hit a neighbor's home and the other hit the leg of Officer James Hobbs. At the time, Hobbs was a DeKalb County policeman assigned to the task force, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. He had been an officer for 12 years.
Officers did not return fire, and rushed Hobbs to the hospital.
Bates was later apprehended. He’d tossed his .45 caliber pistol with an extended clip down a vent in his living room. The gun was eventually recovered.
Authorities found more than seven pounds of marijuana, scales, cash and other drug-related items during a search of the home.
Bates was wanted on drug charges at the time and had drug arrests in Fulton County dating to 2006, according to jail records. He also served two prison sentences for marijuana possession, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections.
Bates was found guilty of assaulting a federal officer and discharging a firearm during the commission of a violent crime Dec. 14. A month before his conviction, he pleaded guilty to charges of possession of a firearm by a felon and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.
Following his 30-year sentence, Bates will be on supervised release for three years.
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