A Pasadena man, Jimmy Caston Bryan, has been sent to federal prison following his conviction of firearm and drug trafficking offenses related to his role in the shooting of a Houston Police Department (HPD) officer.
Bryan, age 24, pleaded guilty Oct. 13, 2022, to possessing with intent to distribute meth and to carrying and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal handed Bryan a 100-month term of imprisonment for drug trafficking meth. He also received 120 months for the firearms charge which must be served consecutively to the other sentence imposed. The total 220-month prison term will be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court noted Bryan’s lengthy criminal history and the violent nature of the offense.
At the time of his plea, Bryan admitted that on May 4, 2022, he fired multiple shots at an HPD officer near 14300 Gulf Freeway.
Bryan previously trafficked narcotics in the Houston area, had possessed meth and was believed to be in the possession of multiple firearms. On May 4, 2022, authorities conducted a traffic stop, at which time two HPD officers approached Bryan’s truck and requested identifying information.
Bryan did not comply which led law enforcement to ask him to step out of the vehicle. As one officer opened Bryan’s door, Bryan quickly reached into his waistband and pulled out a semi-automatic handgun.
At the time of his plea, Bryan also admitted he shot and struck the other HPD officer twice – once in the chest and once in the right hip.
Both officers returned gunfire and struck Bryan.
A search of Bryan’s vehicle revealed over 48 grams of meth, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, a digital scale and two additional handguns.
Bryan has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.