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Man who shot officer, took hostage has more than 20 convictions on record

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The 45-year-old man accused of shooting a Gladstone Police sergeant and then taking a woman hostage at a Subway location has a lengthy criminal record and federal prosecutors have fought to describe him as an “armed career criminal.”

Jeffrey Carl Giddings is being held under watch at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center after he was shot by SWAT officers. The Gladstone Police Department says Giddings suffered a non-life-threatening injury as a result of being shot.

According to court documents, prosecutors in Klamath County have filed nearly 30 separate cases against Giddings between 1994-2012. Most of the charges were for property crime and drug-related offenses.

In February 2012, federal prosecutors set their sights on Giddings, and he was indicted with one count of unlawful transportation of firearms.

In court documents, Giddings told federal investigators that his criminal history was due mostly to his drug addiction. “He admitted using methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin,” according to federal court documents.

Giddings has spent most of the past 20 years in and out of prison. Records show that in 2012, a pre-sentencing report conducted by federal authorities found 23 convictions dating back to 1991.

By April 2012, Giddings accepted a plea deal and was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced in federal court to 15 years in prison, which is what the U.S. Attorney’s Office had sought.

To get that sentence, the U.S. Attorney’s Office argued that Giddings was an “armed career criminal” based upon his felony crimes and drug trafficking offenses.

Giddings was re-sentenced after a panel of federal judges determined that Giddings did not qualify for the federal mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines proscribed under the “armed career criminal” statutes.

The government, though, in court filings, maintained that it believed Giddings did meet the qualifications and asked that he still face the 15 year prison sentence. However, a judge sentenced Giddings to 4-years, 9-months in prison in May 2016.

Had the original sentence of 15 years in prison been upheld, Giddings would not have been released until June 29, 2025.

When Giddings is released from the hospital, he will be booked into the Clackamas County Jail, according to police.