A Miramar-based Marine who shot at California Highway Patrol officers during a short pursuit in East County last year was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison.

Edward Michael Forney, 21, pleaded guilty in October to assault with a firearm on a police officer and admitted to a gun-use allegation. He was sentenced Wednesday in El Cajon Superior Court.

Prosecutors said Forney was the passenger in a Honda SUV that two CHP officers tried to stop on a freeway about 3 a.m. on Aug. 9, 2009. After a short pursuit, Forney got out of the vehicle and fired 10 shots.

The officers were not injured.

Deputy District Attorney Douglas Rose said the CHP officers had suspected the driver, Charles Henderson Neal, of operating the SUV while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Neal failed to pull over on eastbound Interstate 8 and instead exited the freeway, prompting a pursuit that lasted about a minute.

Rose said the vehicle came to a stop on East Madison Avenue in El Cajon, and both Forney and Neal ran in opposite directions. The officers chased Neal on foot, then heard shots coming from behind them.

The prosecutor said Forney got back into the SUV and tried to run one of the officers down. The officer fired at the vehicle, hitting the driver's side door.

A short time later, the vehicle was found abandoned on state Route 125 in Spring Valley.

Forney, who was stationed at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, was arrested Aug. 11, 2009. He had a minor wound on the left side of his thigh or buttocks that lined up with the shot the officer fired through the door of the Honda.

Police searched Forney's home and found a pair of ripped pants that also lined up with Forney's wound, the prosecutor said.

Neal, 24, pleaded guilty in October 2009 to charges that included felony evading and was sentenced to two years in prison. He's now on trial in San Diego Superior Court facing a murder charge, stemming from an unrelated drive-by shooting, prosecutors said.