BLACKFOOT — A 44-year-old local man was sentenced Monday to a unified 15-year prison term for nearly running over two Bingham County Sheriff’s Office deputies during a high-speed pursuit in May 2021.

Seventh District Judge Darren B. Simpson levied the sentence against Marcus Kurt Yupe, during a sentencing hearing Monday. A jury seated in Bingham County convicted Yupe in March after a two-day trial of two counts of aggravated assault on certain personnel, eluding a police officer, possession of fentanyl and an enhancement for being a persistent violator, all felonies.

Typically, two counts of aggravated assault on certain personnel each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Simpson increased a 10-year prison term for both charges by five years because of the persistent violator enhancement, bringing the total to a unified 15-years in prison, the prosecutor handling the case, Bingham County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Janet Franklin, told the Idaho State Journal on Tuesday.

Of the unified 15-year prison sentence, Yupe must serve at least five years incarcerated before being eligible for parole. Additionally, Yupe received a unified 12-year sentence for the felony eluding and possession of fentanyl charges, though that time in prison will run concurrently, or at the same time, as the prison time for the aggravated assault on certain personnel charges. 

Before Yupe begins serving the prison time for the charges he was convicted of in March, he must serve a unified five-year prison term imposed against him for a felony eluding conviction in 2020. Of the unified five-year prison term for the 2020 eluding conviction, Yupe received just over two years credit for time served. He also received about one year of credit for time served for the felony convictions in March.

The charges against Yupe stem from an incident on May 8, 2021, which began in Blackfoot when a police officer attempted to stop a pickup truck being driven by Yupe due to its fictitious and suspended license plates.  

Yupe fled from the officer, reaching speeds of 70 miles per hour in a residential neighborhood where the posted speed limit was 25 miles per hour. 

During the pursuit, Cpl. Lawrence Henrie and deputy Brook Ferro of the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office deployed a spike strip across Shilling Avenue just prior to a bridge spanning the Blackfoot River.  

Cpl. Henrie controlled the spike strip from a position on the opposite side of the road from Mr. Yupe and Dep. Ferro stood just off the roadway near a marked patrol vehicle. Mr. Yupe drove directly towards Cpl. Henrie and Dep. Ferro, prompting Cpl. Henrie to open fire on the truck.  Cpl. Henrie’s shots struck the driver’s side of the pickup truck, but Mr. Yupe continued driving. Both deputies narrowly avoided being hit by the truck as it passed within two feet of Cpl. Henrie and within approximately ten feet of Dep. Ferro.

The pursuit continued for approximately eleven minutes. 

Blackfoot officers and Bingham County deputies apprehended Mr. Yupe once his truck became inoperative due to driving on tires that had been punctured by Cpl. Henrie’s spike strip. After Mr. Yupe was taken into custody, a Blackfoot officer located pills on his person which were later determined to contain fentanyl. Mr. Yupe had not been prescribed the pills.