A New Ulm, Minn., felon has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after leading police on a brief wild chase through a northeast Minneapolis neighborhood, barely missing frightened drivers, sideswiping parked cars and dodging a pursuer's gunfire before crashing into a snowbank.
Buck O. White, 50, was sentenced in federal court in Minneapolis following his conviction for possessing stolen guns and stolen ammunition and for being a felon at the time of the possession. Once his prison time is over, he'll be on supervised release for five years and must stay away from alcohol and receive substance abuse treatment.
"Buck White is a career felon [now] facing 25 years in prison for his repeated illegal activity," Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley Endicott said Friday. He pointed to White's criminal record of 30 convictions going back to 1984 that include burglary and assault.
White's defense sought a 15-year prison term, contending in court documents that 25 years or more means "he will probably die in prison" because of his age, "poor health and his family history of early mortality."
White was indicted in March 2013, after being caught storing four guns, including two shotguns and a rifle, in Courtland, Minn., that had been stolen in a residential burglary in nearby Lake Crystal. He also had a stolen rifle and ammo in his home.
He was released on bond and required to remain at the Twin Town Treatment Center in St. Paul, but he shed his GPS monitoring bracelet and fled in July 2013.
Law enforcement officers tracked down White in January 2014 in Minneapolis, setting off the pursuit through red lights and stop signs. Witnesses described White's SUV sideswiping cars and a Route 3 Metro Transit bus and driving straight at a roadblock set up near Marshall Street and 16th Avenue NE.
A deputy with the U.S. Marshals Service manning the roadblock fired at least four shots at White's vehicle. He was arrested after he crashed into a snowbank near Como and 33rd avenues SE., about 4 miles from where he was first spotted.
