TUCSON, Ariz. — A man involved in a shootout on Amtrak’s Sunset Limited in 2021 that led to the death of his accomplice and a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency officer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said in a press release.
Devonte Okeith Mathis, 24, of Mesquite, Texas, was sentenced June 22 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana; using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He will also serve five years of supervised release followed completion of his sentence.
Michael Garbo, a 16-year veteran of the DEA, was killed as Mathis was being detained on Oct, 4, 2021, when an accomplice of Mathis opened fire, killing Garbo and wounding a second agent and a police officer [see “Man killed in shooting on Sunset Limited was 16-year DEA agent,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 6, 2021]. An Associated Press report identifies the second individual as 26-year-old , 26-year-old Darrion Taylor. After exchanging fire with officers, Taylor barricaded himself in the lower-level bathroom of the Superliner car and was later found dead inside.
In his plea bargain, Mathis said he knew Taylor had two handguns and was likely to use them.
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