(Matthew Lyrek – image: Wright County Sheriff’s Office)
A Wright County man was recently sentenced to more than 15 years in prison on four counts of 1st degree assault after being found guilty in a jury trial.
38-year-old Matthew Lyrek of Montrose was sentenced on October 12th for charges related to assault on a peace officer.
Wright County Attorney Brian Lutes said in a statement that several Wright County Sheriff’s Office deputies encountered Lyrek on April 15th of 2024, at the Dollar General store in Montrose where they intended to apprehend him on several existing warrants.
Lutes says it was then that Lyrek pulled a handgun and pointed it at the deputies. Lutes says it was during this time that deputies shot Lyrek and used a Taser on him.
The criminal complaint stated that despite being shot, Lyrek continued to hold and point the gun at deputies for several minutes. Deputies deployed multiple rounds of less than lethal force on Lyrek while commanding that he drop the gun. When Lyrek finally dropped the gun, deputies detained him and rendered medical care. He later recovered from his injuries in the incident.
County Attorney Lutes thanked the deputies who responded to apprehend Lyrek, knowing he was armed and dangerous. He said the deputies risked their lives to keep the citizens of Wright County safe.
Lutes closed his statement saying that if an offender threatens or assaults a police officer in Wright County, he will continue to do his best to make sure a stiff penalty is imposed.
