A 21-year-old man who was involved in a 2023 shooting with a state trooper after a pursuit in Atlanta was recently sentenced to a decade in prison, officials said.
Montrez Ballard, who pleaded guilty to possession of a machine gun in October, has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, court records show.
“Ballard’s brazen actions endangered the life of a law enforcement officer,” acting U.S. Attorney Richard Moultrie said in a news release.
On July 21, 2023, Ballard was driving a Nissan Maxima and “abruptly cut off” a Georgia State Patrol trooper in Atlanta, authorities with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia said. The trooper pursued Ballard and activated his lights to signal for the man to pull over.
As Ballard fled, officials said he drove more than 20 mph over the speed limit in a residential area, ran stop signs and nearly hit another motorist.
Ballard, who was 19 at the time, eventually crashed into a stop sign near the Westside Reservoir Park and tried to run away, authorities said. At some point while the trooper was chasing him, law enforcement confirmed Ballard “confronted” the officer and fired at least three shots. The trooper returned fire.
The trooper was not injured, but Ballard was taken to a hospital after being arrested with the help of other law enforcement agencies.
His firearm, a handgun that had been converted into a machine gun, was recovered. The modification allowed the gun to fire continuously without multiple trigger pulls, officials said.
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