Man Returns to Prison for Assaulting Officers

June 17, 2022 – A Memphis man who served most of a 40-year-sentence for a 1984 conviction for kidnapping, rape and robbery is going back to prison for pulling a gun on two police officers, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

Defendant Layton N. Ford, 60, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty last week in Criminal Court to two counts of aggravated assault against first responders attempting to discharge their duties, and convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Investigators said that shortly after 4 a.m. on Jan. 26, 2021, officers responded to a shots-fired call in the area of North Claybrook Street and Overton Park Avenue in the Crosstown area.

Officers approached Ford, who matched the suspect’s description, and began asking him questions. As they patted him down for weapons, Ford pulled away and pointed a silver handgun at the officers, saying, “Don’t make me shoot you.”

The two officers retreated to safety and Ford ran away through a wooded area and into a neighborhood in the 300 block of Peach Avenue. With the help of a K9 officer, Ford was found hiding in a trash can. He held down the lid and continued to resist before he was handcuffed and placed under arrest.

The incident occurred less than a year after the expiration of a 40-year sentenced Ford received in 1984 when he pled guilty to aggravated kidnapping, aggravated rape and aggravated robbery.

The recent case was handled by Asst. Dist. Attys. Jose Leon and Samuel Winnig of the District Attorney’s Special Prosecution Unit 8 which seeks maximum sentencing for repeat felony offenders.