FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — A Rural Hall man will spend the next 17 years at minimum behind bars after he dragged a Forsyth County deputy with his car on Christmas Day of 2021, according to the Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office.

Ricky Wallace Simon, of Rural Hall, pleaded guilty on Friday to several felony charges. He was sentenced to a minimum of 225 months, or 17 years and nine months, up to a maximum of 282 months, or 23 years and six months.

The D.A.’s office says that, while the Christmas assault was what directly led to Simon’s arrest, the suspect had been on a 10-month crime spree beginning in March 2021.

On March 1, Simon assaulted Anthony Kellum by hitting him in the eye with the butt of a rifle after an argument.

On May 8, he fired several shots into a home on the 3500 block of Yarborough Avenue in Winston-Salem and shot two men, Adrian Panchi-Colon and Damien Artis. The victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

On June 3, officers executed a search warrant at his home hoping to find Simon. He was arrested, and officers found a stolen Sig Sauer P365 handgun.

He was out of jail on bond when deputies found him speeding at 1 a.m. on Dec. 25. He was driving a red Ford Mustang on U.S. 52 North. When the deputy pulled him over, they stopped in a parking lot.

Simon was following instructions until a second deputy arrived with K-9 Rex, a drug-sniffing dog. As the K-9 deputy and Rex approached Simon’s car, he jumped back in and tried to drive away.

The K-9 deputy tried to get into the car through the passenger door, but Simon sped up, dragging the deputy several feet down the road.

K-9 Rex managed to get into the car. The K-9 caused Simon to crash and helped get the suspect into custody.

A concealed handgun, 34 grams of heroin and 14 grams of cocaine were seized from the vehicle.

The deputies involved were out of the hospital and with their families in time for Christmas.