Sandy Woman Sentenced to 15 Months’ Imprisonment After Assaulting Federal Officers

Salt Lake City, Utah - Melissa Lynn Trotter, 25, of Sandy, Utah was sentenced today to 15 months' imprisonment, three years' supervised release, and ordered to pay $7,952.67 in restitution after she assaulted federal officers with her car in February 2024.

The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge David Barlow for the District of Utah. In May 2024, Trotter admitted to assaulting federal officers with a deadly weapon.

According to court documents and statements made at the change of plea hearing, on February 7, 2024, Trotter violently assaulted several members of the United States Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (VFAST) with her vehicle outside a CVS in West Valley City. Members of VFAST identified themselves as law enforcement and were attempting to arrest Trotter's fugitive boyfriend when she reversed her vehicle and rammed into a federal officer's vehicle where Deputy United States Marshals were standing. Trotter than drove over a parking barrier, hitting the CVS building, and drove on a pedestrian sidewalk outside the store and violently rammed another federal officer's vehicle while attempting to escape from law enforcement. See prior press release here.

"Trotter's criminal actions were reckless and dangerous," said U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins of the District of Utah. "My office is committed to doing everything we can to protect law enforcement while they work to protect our communities."

"Unfortunately, when pursuing individuals who are wanted and have violent criminal records, incidents like this are all too common," said Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Nick Chournos for the District of Utah. "The United States Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (VFAST) along with state and local partners are committed to protecting our communities."

The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Assistant United States Attorney Kevin L. Sundwall of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.