A St. Louis County man has admitted to shooting at police officers during an incident that took place in 2024. Dylan Farmer, 21, from Breckenridge Hills, Missouri, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis to four counts of assaulting a law enforcement officer and two counts of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
The events unfolded on February 13, 2024, when officers from the St. Louis County Police Department Special Response Unit were searching for an individual wanted in connection with a double homicide. The vehicle linked to this person was located on Virginia Avenue in St. Louis. As Farmer unlocked and entered the vehicle, officers approached him for detention purposes. These officers wore vests marked “Police,” and their vehicles displayed blue flashing emergency lights.
Farmer opened fire using a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun equipped with a 50-round drum magazine as three task force officers arrived in their SUV, causing damage to the vehicle. Officers returned fire as Farmer fled across the street and fired at an officer before running down an alley and shooting at another officer who took cover behind a dumpster.
He then hid on the porch of a house on Alaska Avenue and fired again when spotted by officers driving by, damaging their vehicle once more before surrendering after being shot multiple times. Officers administered first aid and called for an ambulance.
During the exchange of gunfire, one officer was injured by glass fragments after a bullet ricocheted off his vehicle’s window while another sustained an ankle injury when seeking cover.
Farmer acknowledged firing first at police during these confrontations.
As part of his plea agreement, both prosecution and defense have agreed to recommend a sentence of 22 years imprisonment for Farmer at his sentencing scheduled for September 23. Each firearm charge carries mandatory minimum sentences of ten years.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the St. Louis County Police Department, FBI, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and U.S. Marshals Service with Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D’Agrosa handling prosecution duties.
