Man Who Shot PA State Trooper Sentenced To 53 To 110 Years

The man who shot and seriously wounded a Pennsyvlania state police corporal during a traffic stop in Northampton County last fall has been sentenced to 53 and a half to 110 years in prison, a judge ordered on Friday.

The sentence comes after Daniel Khalil Clary, 22, was found guilty of two counts attempted murder along with numerous other charges earlier this summer, court documents show.

In court on Friday before a crowd which reportedly filled the courtroom to bursting, the injured officer, Corporal Seth Kelly, 39, addressed Clary directly in a victim impact statement.

"If you would have cooperated ... and not taken the law into your own hands, none of this would have happened. I pray you never get released from prison," Kelly said, according to The Morning Call.

The incident occurred in Plainfield Township on Nov. 7, 2017 when Trooper Ryan Seiple pulled Clary over for speeding.

Seiple issued him a citation, and had sent Clary on his way when Clary inexplicably got back out of his car and flagged Seiple down, authorities said. The road was busy, and Seiple tried to get Clary to get back in his car, but he refused, according to police.

That's when Kelly arrived on the scene to assist Seiple, and upon giving him a sobriety test, attempted to arrest him for driving under the influence.

Clary, however, broke free from the pair and began wrestling with them on the side of the road. Police said that Seiple and Kelly used a taser repeatedly on Clary, but that it only knocked him down once, and that he continued to fight them off.

Dash cam footage from the scene appears to show Clary subdued, but he somehow managed to get up, run around to the driver's side of his vehicle - which had the window down - pull out a handgun, and shoot at the officers over the hood of the car.

Kelly was hit multiple times. Even after being hit, Kelly returned fire, as did Seiple, ultimately hitting Clary several times as well.

Clary managed to get into his 2008 blue Pontiac and flee the scene. He drove himself to Easton Hospital, which is about 15 minutes away, where he was taken into custody.

Kelly, meanwhile, had fallen backwards over the guiderail, but somehow managed to take a tourniquet out from his belt and apply it to one of his wounds, "more than likely saving his own life," according to Rich D'Ambrosio, commander of Troop M, based in Bethlehem.

Kelly faced a long and daunting recovery, and at first it wasn't clear if he was going to make it. He underwent immediate surgeries. He had been shot in his neck, shoulder, and leg, police said.

Philomena Kelly, Kelly's wife and a Forks Township police detective, reportedly said in a victim impact statement that Kelly had suffered "terrible migraines" while in a coma.

Still, Kelly was able to fight through and come out alive.

As part of his defense, Clary's uncle testified that Clary had been a normal child growing up but suffered a head injury which left him "paranoid," the report states.

All told, Clary was found guilty of nine of the ten charges that were filed against him. The only charge he wasn't found guilty of was driving under the influence.

Related:

• PA State Police Corporal Shot, Suspect Captured
• PA State Police Corporal Likely Saved His Own Life After Shooting

Warning: the dash cam footage below contains graphic content.

Image via Youtube screenshot