Man sentenced to 10 years after shooting at Georgia State Patrol trooper in Atlanta

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - A man accused of shooting at a Georgia State Patrol trooper in 2023 has been sentenced to ten years in prison, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia said.

On July 21, 2023, 21-year-old Montrez Ballard cut off a trooper while driving in Atlanta. He sped off when the trooper tried to pull him over, running stop signs and almost hitting another vehicle, according to the attorney’s office.

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A few minutes later, his Nissan Maxima crashed into a stop sign. Ballard got out of his car and tried to run, and he fired at least three shots at the trooper chasing him, the attorney’s office said.

Montrez Ballard(Fulton County Sheriff's Office)

The trooper fired back, hitting Ballard. Atlanta police and Fulton County deputies were called into the chase, and law enforcement eventually arrested him and took him to the hospital.

Ballard’s 9mm Glock 19 handgun had been equipped with a device that turned it into a machine gun, the attorney’s office said. At the time of his arrest, he was on probation for robbery.

Ballard’s 10 years in prison will be followed by three years of supervised release.

“Ballard’s brazen actions endangered the life of a law enforcement officer,” Acting U.S. Attorney Richard Moultrie Jr. said. “This lengthy prison sentence reflects Ballard’s dangerous, and potentially lethal, attack on a Georgia State Patrol trooper whose very mission is to help keep our community safe.”