By Suzie Schottelkotte
The Lakeland Ledger
BARTOW, Fl. — A Lakeland man who tried to run down a Polk County sheriff’s deputy during a chase through the yards of a Lakeland neighborhood in 2007 has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
A Circuit Court jury found Dennis Kirk Thompson, 61, guilty in March of armed robbery, armed burglary and fleeing police.
Deputies reported that Thompson and an accomplice attempted to rob a woman of her car at gunpoint in a Walmart store parking lot in Auburndale on Oct. 29, 2007.
When the woman sounded an alarm on her key chain, Thompson and his companion fled in the stolen 2008 Ford F-350 King Ranch pickup they were driving, according to reports.
Auburndale police began a pursuit and were joined by sheriff’s K-9 teams who were training in the area.
Thompson led them to the Lake Luther community in North Lakeland, plowing down fences while winding through residential yards in the area.
At one point in the chase, Thompson tried to ram Deputy Paul Leslie’s patrol car with the truck he was driving.
No one was hurt, but several homeowners were left with damaged fences and deep gouges in their lawns.
The chase ended when Deputy Russ Hilson intentionally rammed the truck, spinning it to a halt.
Thompson, who lived at 419 Oakridge Drive in Lakeland, was convicted of armed robbery, burglary, fleeing to elude police and resisting arrest. He also was found guilty of assault on a law enforcement officer for attempting to run down a deputy during the chase.
Circuit Judge Angela Cowden sentenced Thompson to life imprisonment Friday.
Cynthia Faye Cox, 48, who authorities say was with Thompson, pleaded no contest to robbery and burglary charges in July 2008 and is serving 15 years in prison.
Thompson still faces armed robbery and armed burglary charges for an incident earlier in the day on Oct. 29, 2007. Authorities allege he and Cox stormed into a home in the 1800 block of Reynolds Road in Lakeland and held three people at gunpoint in an attempted robbery.
They came away with $85, but not before firing at one of the occupants, grazing his leg.
Cox’s plea in July 2008 included three counts of armed robbery for that incident.
No trial date has been set for Thompson in that case.
Copyright 2010 Lakeland Ledger Publishing Corporation