Othello man gets 521/2 years for shooting at deputies

Barajas shot at two Adams County deputies following traffic stop

RITZVILLE (AP) — A man convicted of wounding an Adams County sheriff's deputy and of shooting at another deputy has been sentenced to 521/2 years in prison, the maximum under state guidelines.

Despite seeking a longer term, Prosecutor Randy J. Flyckt said "justice was served" by the sentence that Florentino Silva Barajas, 43, was given Tuesday by visiting Lincoln County Superior Court Judge Philip W. Borst, who heard the case to avoid any conflict of interest.

Prosecutors said Barajas, previously known to authorities as Jorge Alaniz, could have been subject to an extraordinary sentence because the shootings involved on-duty law enforcement officers.

Barajas, whose lawyer claimed he fired in self-defense, was convicted in December of two counts of attempted first-degree murder in the wounding of Deputy Jeff Lane and shots fired at Deputy Dale Wagner.

Testimony showed he was stopped last Feb. 27 for driving without a valid license, threw a punch at Wagner, drove to his home near Othello and got a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol from the house.

Lane and Wagner were walking around the house when they found Barajas hiding in a ditch and he opened fire. According to court records, Lane's bullet-resistant vest may have saved his life. Wagner and a third deputy returned fire and Barajas surrendered after being hit in the right cheek and left wrist.

Barajas was barred from having a gun because of convictions for delivery of a controlled substance in Yakima County in 1993 and a more recent drug violation in Minnesota.

Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com