Driver in January police pursuit sentenced to 15 years

The driver in a January police pursuit was sentenced to 15 years in prison under the custody of the Illinois Department of Corrections and two years of mandatory supervised release Tuesday in Alexander County, Illinois.

Charles A. Franz, 31, of Yuba City, California, pleaded guilty to one Class X felony count of aggravated discharge of a firearm in the direction of a police officer. Two additional counts for the same offense were dismissed per the conditions of a plea deal negotiated through pre-trial conferences per Illinois Supreme Court Rule 402.

Franz was taken into custody after a Jan. 18 police pursuit beginning in Cape Girardeau and ending near McClure, Illinois, after Franz drove a vehicle into a Cape Girardeau officer’s patrol unit and after multiple rounds were discharged from a firearm toward pursuing officers.

Cameron W. Cook, 25, of Scott City was a passenger in the vehicle during the pursuit. On March 24, Cook pleaded guilty to one Class X felony count of aggravated discharge of a firearm in the direction of a police officer.

Additional charges are filed against Franz in the State of Missouri of one Class A felony count of first-degree assault of a special victim and resisting arrest by fleeing and one Class E felony count of creating a substantial risk of serious injury or death to any person.