BROOKSVILLE — Kyle Lee Chunn, convicted in April of crimes related to a shooting that occurred outside a Brooksville apartment complex a year ago, was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison.
A jury convicted Chunn, 23, of Inverness, on charges that included fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement, and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. He was set to go to trial in June on attempted murder charges until Assistant State Attorney Rob Lewis said Thursday that he will not prosecute the case primarily because Chunn already is serving a life sentence for another crime.
In handing down Thursday's sentence, Circuit Judge Daniel B. Merritt Jr. took into consideration Chunn's lengthy record as a habitual, violent offender who has served two previous prison terms for violent crimes.
Described by law enforcement authorities as a "one-man wrecking crew," Chunn was arrested in May 2013 in Marion County at the home of an accomplice after a multi-county manhunt that began in the early morning hours of May 21. Authorities said Chunn fired numerous shots at two men with whom he had been arguing outside Brookhaven Apartments in Brooksville before fleeing in a stolen car along with Lacie Nicole Swan, 19, also of Inverness.
Later, Hernando County sheriff's deputies spotted the car as it backed into a parking space at a convenience store on Powell Road. After seeing the patrol cars, Chunn sped off, heading south on U.S. 41 in the northbound lane at speeds exceeding 80 mph before pulling into Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport.
Chunn drove through two chain-link fences and toward a third deputy who had joined the pursuit and was laying down stop sticks. With the vehicle disabled, Chunn fled on foot, hopped a fence onto Southwest Florida Water Management District property, stole another car and fled, authorities said.
Swan, taken into custody at the scene, was sentenced to house arrest on reduced charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and agreed to testify against Chunn. However, Lewis said Swan has since left the state.
Logan Neill can be reached at lneill@tampabay.com or (352) 848-1435.