A Glynn County man who pointed a loaded weapon at a police officer last year will now spend the next 15 years in prison after being convicted by a jury last week and sentenced on Wednesday.
Joseph Michael Trutt, 33, was found guilty of aggravated assault on a police officer and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony on Friday by a jury in Glynn County Superior Court, a release from the Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney said.
He was sentenced Wednesday by Superior Court Judge Stephen Kelley to serve 10 years in prison and the following 10 years on probation for the assault charge and five years in prison for the firearm charge to be served consecutively following the first sentence.
Trutt’s prison terms result from an incident on July 17, 2022, in which the mother of Trutt’s children called a Glynn County Police officer to the Waverly Pines neighborhood to stand by while she retrieved her belongings from the house she shared with him. The woman told the officer she was afraid of Trutt, the release said.
When police arrived at the home, the officer was told Trutt was sitting in a car in the driveway. As the officer approached the vehicle, he heard the sound of a bullet being chambered in a gun and saw Trutt pointing the gun at him, the release said.
Trutt then lowered the gun and the officer pulled his while telling Trutt to put the gun down and calling for backup. Backup arrived and after several commands to drop the gun, Trutt put the gun in his lap and the officer was able to retrieve it, the release said.
The release called the gun a “ghost” gun, which are homemade guns without serial numbers. It had a round in the chamber and other bullets in the magazine, the release said.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney T. Clifton Woody II and Assistant District Attorney Taylor Herron.
