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- Joshua Jermaine Hippard was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for a 2021 shooting.
- Hippard was found guilty of attempted murder and assault on a police officer with a gun.
- Prosecutors said Hippard shot a Sacramento police officer after shooting at his family.
A man was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for wounding a Sacramento police officer in a shooting shortly after firing the gun at his wife, children and brother-in-law leaving in vehicles after an argument.
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Sacramento Superior Court Judge Steve White sentenced Joshua Jermaine Hippard on Friday for the March 24, 2021, shooting that wounded the officer, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday in a news release.
A jury on March 20 found Hippard guilty of attempted murder, assault on a police officer with a semi-automatic firearm, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and discharging a firearm at an inhabited vehicle.
Hippard, 37, remained in custody at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center near Elk Grove awaiting transfer to a prison.
Five years ago, the first gunshots were reported in a 911 call shortly before midnight in the 5900 block of Tangerine Avenue in Sacramento’s Parkway neighborhood.
Prosecutors said Hippard had been an argument with his wife at their home, before she put her six children in the car to leave. She asked her brother-in-law to drive her other car and follow them.
As his wife, children and brother-in-law drove away, Hippard fired his gun at them about five times, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Two of the bullets landed in the backseat of the vehicle the brother-in-law was driving. He was not injured.
The Sacramento police officer responding to the reported gunfire arrived and spotted Hippard walking on the sidewalk. Prosecutors said the officer saw Hippard put something in his pocket.
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The officer then saw Hippard had put a gun in his pocket, prosecutors said. The officer told Hippard not to move.
Hippard then approached the police patrol vehicle’s passenger side and fired his gun twice into the patrol car, according to the District Attorney’s Office. One of the gunshots struck the officer in his stomach.
Prosecutors said Hippard then ran toward the back of the patrol vehicle and continued to point his gun at the officer.
The wounded officer got out of his patrol vehicle and returned fire. Hippard was struck by gunfire and fell to the ground. Prosecutors said Hippard, while on the ground, reloaded his gun.
Police video from the scene showed a second officer arrived, drew his weapon as he took cover near the wounded officer and repeatedly ordered Hippard, who was laying prone at this point, to put down the gun or throw it away from his body.
Hippard refused to drop the firearm. The Police Department said SWAT officers then arrived, and police negotiated with Hippard for “several hours” before he finally dropped the handgun was taken into custody. Both Hippard and the wounded officer were hospitalized and treated for their injuries.
Prosecutors said the wounded officer’s bullet-proof vest and a flashlight worn on his vest protected him from serious injuries.
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