Point Breeze man sentenced in 2008 police confrontation

For Tony Burrell, 2008 was a year best forgotten.

It began in January with the Point Breeze man's arrest on drug charges.

In August, he plowed his ATV into a police car at 22d and Reed, tried to flee, and wound up impaling himself on six-inch spikes when he tried to vault over a fence gate.

Burrell ended the year in December when police stopped him with an arrest warrant. He ran, fired a shot at the pursuing officers, and then tripped in an alley between Reed and Gerritt Streets.

Thursday, the final bill came due: Burrell was sentenced to 31/2 to seven years in prison by Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Erdos after pleading guilty to three gun charges and a count of recklessly endangering another person.

Erdos complimented Burrell for the excellent plea deal his lawyer negotiated, in which the District Attorney's Office dropped charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault. But the judge warned Burrell he would face a far longer sentence if he is arrested after leaving prison to begin five years of probation.

Burrell, 21, said nothing before sentencing on the advice of his lawyer, Lloyd Long, according to Assistant District Attorney Noel De Santis.

De Santis said court records showed that Burrell began his criminal career at age 11 and continued until the events of 2008 ended it.

It could have been worse: The shooting happened two months after Gov. Ed Rendell signed a law mandating at least 20 years in prison for shooting at an officer. Burrell missed the law's effective date by weeks.

Neither of the 17th District officers - Anthony Gamble and Nathaniel Harper - was hit by the shot that Burrell claimed was accidentally fired from his .45-caliber pistol in the Dec. 5 chase.

The officers recognized Burrell that morning because they were among the police on the scene when he impaled himself.