Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — A man once labeled as Public Enemy No. 1 pleaded guilty Tuesday to assaulting a police officer and other violent offenses.
Christopher John McMillan, 44, pleaded guilty to assault on a police officer, a second-degree felony, as well as a third-degree felony for failure to stop at an officer's command.
McMillan was originally charged with attempted aggravated murder — a first-degree felony carrying a potential sentence of 15 years to life in prison — after police say he was fleeing from officers and swerved toward a West Valley officer as he laid down tire spikes last year. He was also accused of crashing into a police vehicle during the chase.
As part of a plea deal struck on the day McMillan was set to begin a jury trial, he also pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in a separate case. Prosecutors say he shot his brother in the foot during an argument in October 2015.
At the time, police said McMillan was on felony probation for theft of more than $50,000 in fur coats in Park City.
In exchange for the guilty pleas, additional charges in McMillan's cases were dropped, including possession of a weapon by a restricted person, a second-degree felony; two counts of felony discharge of a firearm, a second-degree felony; an additional count of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony; and reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor.
McMillan was named Public Enemy No. 1 by the Unified Police Metro Gang Unit in February 2016 as police searched for him after the chase with officers. Months earlier, police identified him as "a member of a violent white supremacist prison gang," a requirement to be placed at the top of the list.
Sentencing for McMillan is set for July 14 in both cases. He faces a potential prison terms of one to 15 years for assaulting the officer and zero to five years for failing to stop for police and aggravated assault.
