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Lookman-Khalil Abolajo Bello was convicted following a six-day bench trial on a host of charges for the March 2022 incident that ended with him being shot by deputies returning fire in Frederick County.
This week, a judge sentenced the Hagerstown man to life plus 15 years in prison.
According to prosecutors, at approximately 2:45 a.m. on March 18, 2022, Frederick County Sheriff Deputy First Class Christian Lucente attempted to stop Bello when he was caught driving 94 mph on I-270 in the area of Route 85.
The vehicle failed to stop, leading to a brief pursuit that ended near the Kingscrest Apartments in Frederick, at which point Bello bailed and took off on foot, which continued to Rooks Court.
Prosecutors say that Bello then took out an unserialized Polymer80 9mm handgun with an extended magazine and fired a dozen shots at the deputy, several of which struck the apartment building directly behind him.
Lucente was able to return fire, striking Bello and incapacitating him. He and a second deputy then provided aid to him until paramedics arrived at the scene.
Bello was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma for further treatment before he was taken to the Frederick County Adult Detention Center to be charged.
Bello was found guilty of:
- Attempted first-degree murder;
- Use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence;
- Use of a high-capacity magazine in the commission of a crime of violence;
- Possession of a firearm by a person with prior crime of violence conviction;
- Possession of ammunition by person with prior crime of violence conviction;
- Fleeing police.
"Our community needs to understand that police face the possibility of being shot at every day, and that we as prosecutors will hold those gunmen and violent offenders accountable," Frederick County State's Attorney Charlie Smith said following the conviction.
"Bello has shown that he is a major threat to public safety and therefore should be removed from our community and incarcerated for a substantial period of time.”
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