Lancaster, Pa. – A Lancaster city man will spend up to 15 years in state prison after being convicted of fleeing police in a stolen car while carrying an illegal firearm.
Dante James Ashford, of the first block of West Lemon Street, was sentenced on Aug. 22 to six years and nine months to 15 years behind bars following a jury’s guilty verdict earlier this year. Judge Merrill Spahn said Ashford’s “dangerous conduct” required prison time to protect the public.
During the sentencing, Ashford’s defense highlighted his difficult upbringing, marked by abuse, homelessness, and abandonment, as context for his actions. His attorney argued those experiences warranted leniency, though not excusing his behavior.
Prosecutors countered that Ashford’s past did not justify the crime. First Deputy Assistant District Attorney Cody Wade told the court that “past traumas did not put a gun in his hands that night” and pointed to a criminal history involving drugs and firearms. Wade also stressed that Ashford was already under supervision for another offense at the time, calling the case part of “a pattern and history of bad decisions.”
Judge Spahn acknowledged Ashford’s troubled past but said accountability was necessary before he could become a productive member of society.
