Man gets 30 years in officer shooting

The bank robbery suspect who shot at police through a locked bathroom door was sentenced Thursday in federal court.

Terrel L. Mallard, 31, of Charleston, was given a 30-year prison sentence on charges of attempting to kill a federal officer, two counts of attempting to kill a person assisting a federal officer and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Mallard entered into a plea deal in 2009 in which he agreed to a sentence of 30 years in prison. He was facing the possibility of life in prison and $2 million in fines.

Mallard opened fire on Charleston County Sheriff's Master Deputy Alan I. Ali, who was assigned to the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, and North Charleston police officers James Roberts and Jonathan Burnem when the officers tried to arrest him at his Tomoka Drive home after a 2008 robbery at a Wachovia bank on Rivers Avenue.

They found him in a locked bathroom and he refused to come out. When they breached the door, he started shooting, wounding Ali. Roberts and Burnem returned fire, wounding Mallard, authorities said. Ali was wounded in the ankle but later returned to duty.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Beth Drake said it's not atypical for sentencing to occur months after a plea deal.