Staunton man sentenced to 57 months hitting federal officer

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WDBJ) - A Staunton has been sentenced to 57 months in prison for hitting a federal officer, according to the United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Virginia.

39-year-old Richard Lee Knight pleaded guilty in June 2022 to one count of assault on a federal officer.

According to court documents, the United States Marshals Service Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force (CARFTF) discovered that Knight, who was wanted on several fugitive warrants out of various jurisdictions in Virginia, was staying at a motel in the Charlottesville area.

Local police, in conjunction with CARFTF, located Knight in a Walmart parking lot in November 2021 near his Mercedes Benz. When an officer moved in to arrest him by issuing an order to “show me your hands, don’t move,” Knight refused the order and entered his car instead, according to prosecutors. Knight drove his Mercedes in reverse, hitting a CARFTF officer and a police vehicle, then drove forward, ramming into a second police vehicle.

After fleeing the scene, Knight led officers on a high-speed chase through Albemarle County, before being arrested after crashing his vehicle on I-64.

The United States Marshals Service Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Albemarle County Police Department investigated the case.

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