Colorado man charged with trying to kill 5 U.S. Marshals in Florida
A Colorado man has been indicted on charges that he tried to murder five deputy U.S. marshals who were attempting to arrest him in Vero Beach, Florida, injuring one of them during a shootout, according to prosecutors.
The shooting happened on March 2 after members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force stopped a vehicle on 12th Street in Vero Beach. Thomas Earl Steffens, 72, of Grand Junction, Colorado, was in the front passenger seat.
Steffens was wanted on a Colorado arrest warrant after he was charged with sexual assault, assault and strangulation. Court records say he traveled by bus to Vero Beach, where federal authorities tracked him to the Green Marlin restaurant and bar before following him to a nearby Publix.
When task force members stopped the vehicle, Steffens allegedly refused repeated commands to get out. The driver exited and told officers that Steffens had a gun and intended to get into a shootout with law enforcement, according to an FBI criminal complaint.
Steffens allegedly pulled out a firearm after officers told him not to reach for it. Gunfire followed, and the suspect allegedly fired at the task force a second time, striking one deputy in the chest and leg.
The deputy was wearing a protective vest, and fellow officers applied a tourniquet to his leg before taking him to a hospital. The suspect was injured in the exchange of gunfire and taken into custody.
Investigators later recovered a 9mm Sig Sauer handgun from the vehicle’s front passenger floorboard, along with five spent shell casings. The gun’s slide was locked back, indicating that the magazine had been emptied, according to the complaint.
Steffens is charged with five counts of attempted murder of a federal officer, five counts of aggravated assault of a federal officer and one count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. If convicted, he faces up to life in federal prison.
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