A Rockport man was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty in September to the attempted murder of two police officers. The incident occurred in May 2022.
Bronson T. Anderson, 33, additionally pleaded guilty to possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and first-degree robbery. He entered his guilty plea days before his case was set to go to trial.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Bruce Kuegel previously stated that he recommended a sentence of 20 years total for the attempted murder charges, followed by concurrent sentences of 10 years for the robbery and 5 years for the handgun possession — for a total of 35 years.
On Tuesday, Circuit Judge Jay Wethington officially handed down the 35-year sentence.
According to Kuegel, the Commonwealth’s office approached Anderson with the plea deal after talking with Officer Jacob Chesher and Officer John Doucet of Owensboro Police Department. Chesher was the officer who was shot during the incident, which occurred on May 14, 2022.
According to records, at approximately 8:54 p.m. that night OPD officers were investigating a suspicious person at a convenience store at 1816 Triplett Street. The individual, later identified as Anderson, and his vehicle matched the description from an earlier reported robbery at the gas station at 217 East 25th Street, according to reports.
According to a release, Anderson began a physical altercation with officers during questioning. Records show that at that time, police allege Anderson fired one round from a concealed handgun and that Chesher was struck. Chesher recovered shortly after the incident.
Anderson then stole an OPD police vehicle and fled the scene, according to the release. The vehicle was recovered a short time later in Spencer County, Indiana. He was arrested early the next morning in Spencer County.
