A 31-year-old Lyons man has been convicted of trying to kill a Highway Patrol trooper in a shootout last October.
Jason Gleason was found guilty Friday of attempted first-degree murder and five other charges.
Gleason was a passenger in an SUV driven by his girlfriend when Trooper Ryan Wolting noticed that it matched one used in a Rice County bank robbery earlier in the day.
Wolting chased the SUV for about 11 miles before it broke down in Saline County. Witnesses testified that Gleason got out and began shooting, shattering the windshield of Wolting’s car as the trooper returned fire.
He had been spotted in the sport utility vehicle with Chrystal Bell, and her children several hours after the Oct. 9, 2012, bank robbery.
Bell had testified earlier that Gleason refused to leave the vehicle and told her to keep driving. She didn’t stop until the engine quit near Gypsum in Saline County.
According to testimony, a bullet Gleason fired struck Bell’s 12-year-old son in the mouth and lodged in Bell’s abdomen. Gleason’s attorney says there’s no evidence Gleason intended to kill.
As we have told you, Gleason still has charges pending in Reno County which include traffic in contraband in a correctional institution, possession of marijuana with a prior conviction, no proof of insurance and speeding.
He was arrested on the charges back on October 5, 2012 and the case is still active.
*The Associated Press and the Salina Journal contributed to this report.