Pendleton Man Gets 15 Years for Shots at OSP

A Pendleton man was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 years in prison for attempting to shoot and kill two Oregon State Police troopers during a high-speed chase in January.

In a plea bargain earlier this month, Bryan Alberto Corona pleaded guilty in the Umatilla County Circuit Court to two counts of attempted aggravated murder (Class A felonies), unlawful use of a weapon (Class C felony), attempting to elude a police officer (Class C felony), and two counts of recklessly endangering another person (Class A misdemeanors). As part of the plea agreement, he also pleaded guilty in another pending criminal case to unlawful delivery of methamphetamine-commercial drug offense (Class B felony) from an incident on June 25, 2015, and admitted to violating his probation from a prior 2015 riot conviction.

The charges stem from a Jan. 2 incident in which OSP troopers attempted to stop the vehicle driven by Corona for speeding on Fulton Road near Highway 37 in the Pendleton area. Instead of pulling over, Corona attempted to elude them for over 20 minutes as OSP pursued at speeds up to 100 mph. According to Umatilla County District Attorney Dan Primus, the OSP followed Corona to South Market Road near Interstate 84 when Corona pulled out a handgun and, as he drove, shot multiple rounds through his rear windshield at the pursing OSP vehicle, containing the driver, OSP Trooper Ryan Sharp, and his passenger, OSP Recruit Trooper Mitch Pace.

At least three of the bullets hit the OSP vehicle’s headlight, radiator, and front windshield on the driver’s side. Trooper Sharp took evasive action and then maneuvered his vehicle into Corona’s vehicle, causing it to spin and come to rest in the east side ditch. As Corona got out and attempted to leave his immobile vehicle on foot, another OSP vehicle arrived and struck him, ending the pursuit and leading to him being taken into custody.

Corona pleaded guilty to the charges in Umatilla County Circuit Court on May 3. At the sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Christopher R. Brauer ruled that Corona is not eligible for programs or early release and will have to serve every day of the 180 months.