Brandon BettisUpdate: Brandon Kyle Bettis was sentenced to 15 years in prison without the possibility of parole Thursday.
TRENTON, Ga. - Brandon Kyle Bettis admitted he tried to run over a couple of deputies.
Bettis pleaded guilty to 12 charges in Dade County Superior Court on Friday, 11 months after deputies say he led them on a chase on Slygo Road when they tried to stop him for driving without a tag on his truck.
The pursuit ended at Haswell Lane, a one-way dirt path that is more driveway than road. Deputies said they got out of the patrol car and tried to talk to him.
But Bettis was still behind the wheel, they said. According to an incident report, he backed up, knocking Sgt. Casey York to the ground and hitting a patrol car, drove forward again, then backed toward the patrol car once more. York and Deputy Kevin Haswell started shooting.
Bettis surrendered, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation release in December 2016. He was not injured.
His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Sean Lowe, said Bettis, 27, entered a blind plea Friday. That means he didn't like any offers from Assistant District Attorney Vikki Clark, and the two sides will meet for a sentencing hearing, scheduled for Thursday.
Bettis pleaded guilty to all of the following charges: two counts of aggravated assault against law enforcement officers on duty; two counts of fleeing or attempting to elude an officer; theft by bringing stolen property into the state; use of an article with an altered ID; possession of less than one ounce of marijuana; driving while his license was suspended or revoked; removing or affixing his license plate with intent to conceal; and receipt, possession or transfer of a firearm with intent to conceal.
According to an indictment in March, Bettis was under the influence of methamphetamine and marijuana when the deputies tried to pull him over. He also had a Linberta shotgun, reported stolen out of Tennessee.
Bettis, of McDonald, Tenn., was also convicted of robbery in Hamilton County in August 2009.
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.