Man Who Shot FL Ambulance To Spend Decades In Prison

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — A man who targeted two paramedics when he shot a Sarasota County Fire Department ambulance in 2019 will spend 40 years behind bars, authorities said.

Tyran Young, 38, was convicted of two counts of aggravated assault on a firefighter, shooting into a vehicle, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, unlawful use of a two-way communications device and misuse of 911, the Sarasota Police Department said in a news release.

The Sarasota man, now a 13-time convicted felon, was also sentenced to 20 years of probation following his release.

SCFD paramedics responded to an automated 911 call on Goodrich Avenue on Jan. 7, 2019, claiming that someone had fallen.

When residents said they hadn’t made the call, the paramedics returned to their ambulance and Young opened fire, hitting the vehicle twice, police said. No one was injured.

Detectives later learned that Young staged the shooting and falsely blamed a young family member, suggesting that the youth was motivated by a family tragedy involving first responders, police said.

Investigators found Young’s cellphone searches mirrored the automated 911 message and linked him to a similar call in 2018 that was believed to be a “dry run,” according to SPD.

Young carried out the shooting to seek leniency on separate felony charges, detectives learned. He was set to begin a one-year prison sentence the day after the shooting.

His prosecution for the shooting was delayed for years by Young’s “attempts to feign incompetence and self-representation tactics,” police said.

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After multiple hearings and failed delays, Young pleaded no contest to all charges on Aug. 11.

Weeks later, he claimed he was under duress when he entered his pleas and tried to withdraw him.

His motion to withdraw his pleas was denied after testimony and recordings showed he had acted strategically and wasn’t under duress, police said.

The victims and the relative Young tried to frame testified during his Oct. 6 sentencing.

“Tyran Young very much seems to think he is smarter than everyone else. However, considering he managed to get himself sentenced to forty years in prison for doing something to avoid serving one year in prison, everyone else is free to think otherwise,” assistant state attorney William Greiner, who prosecuted the case, said.