LOUISVILLE, KY - A federal grand jury in Louisville returned an indictment this week charging a Louisville man with assaulting, resisting or impeding agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Response Team (SRT) during the execution of a Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) search warrant.
According to court documents, Donald A. Simonton, 68, of Louisville, fired multiple rounds at federal agents from the ATF SRT as they made entry into his residence during the execution of a search warrant. No one was injured during the exchange of gun fire. Federal agents were assisting LMPD with the execution of a search warrant.
Simonton is charged with Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Federal Officers and with Use of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence. He is scheduled for an initial court appearance on Feb. 25, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. before United States Magistrate Judge Regina S. Edwards of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. If convicted, Simonton faces a minimum of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines along with other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and ATF Special Agent in Charge R. Shawn Morrow of the Louisville Field Division made the announcement.
ATF and LMPD are investigating the case. Assistant United States Attorney Alicia P. Gomez is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
