A 21-year-old Jonesboro man was sentenced to 45 years in the state penitentiary after being convicted of shooting at a Clayton police officer, authorities said.
Dennis Carlton Touchtone Jr., ran from the Clayton officer, who was trying to arrest him for breaking into a home and stealing $2,300 worth of electronics, including a Nintendo Wii, police said.
Touchtone was sentenced Thursday. He was convicted of burglary, aggravated assault and felony obstruction of an officer, police said.
Another man, Cornelius Aubrey Leftwich, 22, of Riverdale, was sentenced to five years in prison – four of which can be on probation, police said. He was convicted of burglary after helping Touchtone steal the items, police said.
According to an incident report, the men drove a green Dodge Stratus to the 600 block of Sedgwick Drive in Jonesboro in April 2010. The men knocked on the door for “approximately five minutes” and then kicked it in, according to a police report.
Witnesses told police one of the men backed the car toward the side of the house where the garage was, and then both men went in and out of the house before driving off.
Police said they went to the house and found the back door open. No one was inside, the incident report said.
Another police officer saw a green Dodge Stratus at the Shell gasoline station at Thomas Road and Flint River Road, the incident report said. One man – Leftwich – was taken into police custody. The second man – Touchtone – ran from the passenger side of the car and into the woods.
He then fired a gun at the police officer, the incident report said.
Police found a flat-screen television, laptop computer, Nintendo Wii game system and two Blackberry mobile devices inside the car. Police also impounded the car, the incident report said.
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