Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
Fargo – United States Attorney Mac Schneider announced that on October 21, 2024, Michael Allen Otto, age 45 from Grand Forks, ND, appeared before Chief Judge Peter D. Welte, U.S. District Court, Fargo, ND, and was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison, followed by three years supervised released, $175.00 in Special Assessments, and ordered to pay restitution for damaged vehicles totaling $2,713.72 for the offenses of Possession of Stolen Firearms and Assaulting a Federal Agent.
On September 15, 2023, Michael Otto was stopped by law enforcement for a routine traffic stop, he then led officers on a high-speed chase. Officers eventually stopped Otto, at which time they found two stolen firearms in Otto’s vehicle. In July of 2024, a warrant was issued for Otto for violating terms of his pretrial release. While Grand Forks Police Officers and FBI Agents attempted to take Otto into custody, Otto rammed his vehicle into a Grand Forks Police Department vehicle and an FBI vehicle occupied by two FBI agents.
“This defendant endangered the safety of federal and local law enforcement officers all while violating the court-imposed terms of his pretrial release,” Schneider said. “Today’s strong sentence is therefore a fair one. The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to keeping our communities safe, and that means aggressively prosecuting assaults on agents and officers in every instance where we have jurisdiction.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Grand Forks Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Richard Lee.
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