Pensacola man gets 45-year prison sentence for assaulting FHP trooper, fleeing traffic stop

Escambia Circuit Judge John Simon levied a 45-year prison sentence Tuesday on the man responsible for ramming a Florida Highway Patrol trooper's vehicle and attempting to flee the scene.

The Office of the State Attorney announced Simon's sentence after 37-year-old Gregory Bernard Henderson Jr. was convicted by a jury for aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer with lights and sirens activated at a high speed.

"On the afternoon of June 21, 2022, troopers with Florida Highway Patrol attempted a felony stop on the defendant's vehicle," the press release said. "The defendant rammed the trooper's vehicle causing it to hit the trooper, struck another parked car and fled. A high-speed chase ensued only ending when troopers conducted a precision immobilization technique (PIT) maneuver."

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The release notes that Henderson was sentenced as a prison releasee reoffender and habitual felony offender for over a dozen previous felony convictions. He had been released from prison less than a year before committing the aggravated assault.

Henderson will serve a mandatory 15-year-minimum for the aggravated assault followed by 30 years for the fleeing or attempting to elude charge, according to the release.

"The defendant has shown he is a risk to the safety of the citizens of Escambia County, law enforcement and anyone who is unfortunate enough to share the road with him," said prosecutor Christopher Patterson during the sentencing.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Florida man gets 45 years for assaulting FHP trooper