Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man who was shot by an Independence, Mo., police officer as he attempted to strike the officer with his truck before leading officers on a high-speed chase, was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing a firearm.

Isaiah Fulson-Dewberry, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to seven years and six months in federal prison without parole.

On June 29, 2020, Fulson-Dewberry pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Two Independence police officers were dispatched to Pepperwood Apartments on Sept. 1, 2019, on reported prowlers. The officers arrived at the apartment complex in separate vehicles and approached from opposite directions. Fulson-Dewberry, driving a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche (later determined to be stolen), pulled out of a parking space and began driving through the parking lot. When the first officer’s marked patrol vehicle approached, Fulson-Dewberry put the truck in reverse and went back into the parking area, driving up onto the curb into the grass. The truck then drove forward and deliberately rammed the front end of the officer’s vehicle. Two passengers – a white female and a black male – ran from the truck and were never located. The truck backed up again and slammed into a parked truck, pushing it into another parked vehicle, and then rammed into the front of the officer’s vehicle a second time.

The truck backed up again, clipping the front end of the second officer’s patrol vehicle, and then went forward again, hitting the front of the patrol vehicle and pushing it. The officer was outside of his vehicle and Fulson-Dewberry swerved the truck at him. The officer, fearing for his life, fired 10 rounds from his duty weapon into the driver’s side of the truck.

Fulson-Dewbery fled from the apartment complex and a pursuit was initiated. The truck made it onto westbound 39th Street. The truck drove on the shoulder of the road, passing vehicles at a high rate of speed and running red lights at busy intersections. The truck also entered into oncoming traffic, nearly striking two different eastbound vehicles head on. The truck proceeded onto southbound Lee’s Summit Road and attempted to get onto the ramp to westbound I-70, but was traveling too fast and spun out into the ditch just onto the ramp to westbound I-70 from Lee’s Summit Road.

Fulson-Dewberry got out of the driver’s side of the truck and threw a loaded Walther .22-caliber handgun into the grassy area near the truck. Fulson-Dewberry had a gunshot wound that passed through his left calf and entered his right calf, where the bullet lodged. He was taken into custody without further incident and transported for medical treatment.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Fulson-Dewberry has prior felony convictions for possession of methamphetamine, burglary of a motor vehicle, identity theft, fleeing from law enforcement, and two prior felony convictions for theft.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Marquez. It was investigated by the Independence, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  

Project Safe Neighborhoods

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.