Mark Alan Brown Sentenced to 40 Years in Cop Shooting

A Hart County man is on his way to prison after pleading guilty to shooting at Sheriff’s deputies.

On Monday, Northern Judicial Circuit District Attorney Parks White said 44-year old Mark Alan Brown was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

“He negotiated a guilty plea with a 40-year sentence, the first 20 to serve in confinement on three counts of felony aggravated assault on a police officer,” White said. “The sentence is a 60-95% offense.For the purpose of the parole board, we believe Mr. Brown will serve almost all of that in confinement.”

The incident happened the night of September 17th at a home on the Elberton Highway across from Cateechee Country Club.

Hart County Sheriff Mike Cleveland said trouble at the house began earlier in the day.

“Earlier we responded to a stolen vehicle to that residence saying Mr. Mark Brown had stolen this lady’s vehicle,” Cleveland said. “Then we got a call that there shots fired before the shooting that we were involved with. Probation officers were in the building when we got the call. Mr. Brown is on probation.”

Those probation officers as well as two Sheriff’s deputies responded to that call.

Cleveland said when they arrived, the probation officers noticed something lying in the grass and they turned their headlights toward that part of the yard.

“And it was Mark Brown laying in the grass with a shotgun and when he decided they had spotted him, he fired a round on them and hit the probation vehicle. They returned fire, the two deputies returned fire. I don’t know how no one was hit. The probation car was hit pretty good, but nobody was hit,” Cleveland said.

Brown then dropped the rifle and took off running behind the house with the probation officers and deputies in pursuit.

He was later captured as he tried to run from the house.

White said Monday’s stiff sentence sends a strong message to would-be offenders.

“We believe this (sentence) recommendation is evidence of our commitment to area law enforcement and how seriously the State takes these types of cases, as well as what we will do to anyone who assaults law enforcement in our area,” White said.

At the time of the shooting in September Brown was already on probation on multiple drug charges.

He had been released from State Prison in April 2012 after serving less than a year of a twenty year sentence on a robbery by intimidation conviction.