Todd Vernon Brewer, 48, walking into the courtroom ahead of his sentencing Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, in Pocatello. Brewer was found guilty of shooting two Pocatello Police Officers in May 2022. | Daniel V. Ramirez, EastIdahoNews.com POCATELLO — A man found guilty of shooting at police officers was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday afternoon. Todd Vernon Brewer was found guilty of two felony counts of aggravated battery on certain personnel and aggravated assault. District Judge Javier Gabiola sentenced Todd Vernon Brewer, 48, on the aggravated battery charges to 20 years fixed and 10 years indeterminate, and to run consecutively to each other. Regarding the aggravated assault charges, Gabiola imposed a sentence of 10 years fixed and 10 years indeterminate, with an additional 10 years per the enhancement charges. These are to run consecutive to the two aggravated battery charges. Brewer was arrested on May 5, 2022, after he had shot two officers with the Pocatello Police Department, Demetrius Amos and Mackenzie Handel. RELATED | Man who shot Pocatello police officers found guilty on multiple counts of aggravated battery and assault RELATED | ‘Nothing (short) of a miracle.’ Chief details shooting that injured two officers, gives update on their conditions RELATED | ‘He’s going to kill me. Please help me.’: Hearing paints picture of incident leading up to officer-involved shooting. During the sentencing, none of the victims made any impact statements. Brewer’s attorney, John Scott Andrew, told the court that the events of the night of May 5, 2022, were not typical of Brewer. It was a series of events that led to the incident due to Brewer’s mental health, causing him issues throughout his life. Andrew said Brewer had financial issues getting his medication, which caused him to get paranoid and drink that night to calm down, believing people were outside to do him harm. This resulted in him grabbing a firearm to protect himself. “He maintains he did not know these were law enforcement officers; he still thought these were gang stalkers,” Andrew said. Referring back to the trial, Andrew took issue with the evidence that was presented and the narrative that Brewer had aimed his rifle at officers. He cited that the video showed Brewer sitting on the porch, whereas the prosecution said his client had raised the gun at them. “It was not his intention to shoot at officers,” Andrew said. “We have a tragedy of people getting shot and severely injured.” Andrew told the court that his client had expressed to him a desire to retract his actions and that Brewer becomes emotional whenever they discuss the case. Looking back, Andrew said Brewer told him it was not the best idea to do what he did that night of drinking to deal with his mental illness. “He is adamant about doing the right things going forward,” Andrew said. Andrew gave his recommendation of placing him on probation with an underlying sentence to include time served. In discussing options for treatment, Andrew said Brewer was interested in undergoing inpatient treatment. He has been on his medications since he’s been incarceration. “Our focus is giving enough period of time where he has some hope of getting out and doing treatment,” Andrew said. Brewer was given a chance to speak and read from a note brought before arriving for his hearing. As he started to read from the note, Brewer began to tear up and said he regrets ever injuring the officers and feels bad that they were injured. “As I testified about I did not believe they were officers at the time, but I’m defending myself against people,” Brewer said. Brewer spoke about how, since the incident, his life has changed due to the injuries he sustained from being shot by the officers in the stomach and leg. This resulted in him having a permanent limp. He made a note that he understands now that drinking made things worse, which resulted in what had occurred that day. “The gravity of what occurred is not lost on me ever,” Brewer said. Brewer told the court that he is focused on addressing his mental health and asked to be placed into a treatment program. “What occurred that night is not a reflection of the person I am,” Brewer said. “I cannot take back what happened that day, but I wish I could.” Bannock County Prosecutor Ian Johnson took issue with the defense and Brewer’s statement, citing that Brewer had been dealing with mental health issues for 20 years. Still, the night of the incident was the first mention of gang stalkers. “Gang stalkers, based on his description, bore an incredible likeness to police officers,” Johnson said. “He should’ve known who they were, because of his illusion, now he can’t discern.” Another facet of Johnson’s issue is that for 20 years, Brewer should have had experience in dealing with his mental health issues. Johnson said that with the bare minimum treatment Brewer has gotten since his incarceration, he has maintained control and hasn’t engaged in violent conduct. “The best indicator of future behavior is prior behavior. We’ve seen 20 years that even by his own voice and statement on stand at the trial, he clearly has not been able to capably cope with or deal with the issues that he’s expressed,” Johnson said. Johnson said the idea of placing Brewer on probation in his eyes is dangerous and recommended that for the two aggravated assault charges, Brewer be sentenced to five years fixed and 15 additional years for the enhancements. On the battery of certain personnel, Johnson made a recommendation of 20 years fixed and five years indefinite, and for it to run concurrently and consecutively to the prior charges. Before sentencing Brewer, Gabiola told him, while sitting through the trial and hearing testimony, he took note that Amos almost died from his action he had taken that night. During the night of the incident, a victim made a call to 911, and Gabiola said the victim showed Brewer he was calling 911, meaning the man should’ve known they were coming to his residence. Gabiola said Brewer’s response to this was to grab an AR-15 rifle and get munitions that were specifically made to pierce through body armor. “Both (Amos and Handel) are lucky to be alive,” Gabiola said. Understanding Brewer’s mental health, Gabiola said they are defactors for him, as while he has been incarcerated, he has had no option but to take his medication. As a judge, he said his goal is to protect society, as he believes if Brewer were not incarcerated, he wouldn’t take his medication. “What you did was horrific,” Gabiola said. Pocatello Police Chief Roger Schei told EastIdahoNews.com after the Brewer’s sentencing that he is still trying to process the sentence Gabiola gave Brewer. “I would agree with what Judge Gabiola said, with his actions and his choices were horrific, and it put the officers in the community in harm’s way,” Schei said. ” I believe that you know those officers were nothing but heroic.” Schei acknowledges that both Amos and Handel, along with everyone present that night, were put to the test and demonstrated tremendous resiliency, as did those supporting the officers afterwards. While Handel is no longer with the Pocatello Police Department, as he’s in New York, Amos has been promoted to corporal with the department. “Everybody there that night showed that they were leaders,” Schei said. The post ‘What you did was horrific,’: Local man who shot two officers sentenced to 40 years appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com
‘What you did was horrific,’: Local man who shot two officers sentenced to 40 years
