Crime

Attempted cop killer sentenced in California court. He now has 5 felony convictions

Marwin McDarment, 44
Marwin McDarment, 44

A man was sentenced to more than 200 years to life in prison for attempting to shoot multiple law enforcement officers on the Tule River Reservation, the Tulare County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.

Marwin McDarment, 44, was sentenced Wednesday in the Visalia courtroom of the Tulare County Superior Court, where he had been convicted of the attempted murder of two peace officers during a shootout in 2011, the DA’s office said.

Investigators say McDarment arrived at a home on the Tule River Reservation on Sept. 9, 2011, before pulling a revolver on people in the home. He fled after law enforcement was notified.

Tulare County Sheriff’s Office deputies en route to the 911 call passed McDarment in a truck and attempted to stop him, the DA’s office said.

A deputy approached the truck with his service firearm drawn, the office said, and McDarment opened fire. During the shootout, a Tule River tribal police officer also arrived.

McDarment eventually surrendered without shooting anyone.

Along with attempted murder, he was convicted Aug. 8 of assault while using a firearm on a peace officer, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, prosecutors said in a news release.

McDarment had prior strikes against him for assault with a deadly weapon in 1996, attempted carjacking in 2004 and assault with a deadly weapon with great bodily injury in 2004, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors pointed to McDarment’s defense involving eight different attorneys and numerous trial continuances as the reason for the trial to take more than a decade.

Marwin McDarment, 44
Marwin McDarment, 44 TULARE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

This story was originally published September 22, 2022 at 12:06 PM.

Thaddeus Miller
Merced Sun-Star
Reporter Thaddeus Miller has covered cities in the central San Joaquin Valley since 2010, writing about everything from breaking news to government and police accountability. A native of Fresno, he joined The Fresno Bee in 2019 after time in Merced and Los Banos.
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