SALT LAKE CITY — A southern Utah man faces aggravated assault charges after allegedly firing several shots at a truck driving through a camping area to scare its occupants away.
No one was injured.
Daniel Trent Patterson, 32, of Hurricane, was charged Wednesday in 5th District Court in St. George with four counts of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, court documents state.
According to an affidavit, Patterson called police and reported that a truck had almost hit an RV and another vehicle in the Hurricane and Warner Valley area — prompting him to shoot at it.
"The reporting person, Daniel Patterson said he feared for his safety as well as his girlfriend's. Daniel said the truck was heading in his direction and when it was about 150 feet away, he fired several warning shots," police said.
"As the vehicle turned away from him he fired several more shots hitting the back of the truck. He said he intended on only hitting the body of the truck to let them know to leave him alone. He then fired several more shots hitting the truck as it passed by," according to the affidavit.
Police said Patterson told them the truck stopped, he saw movement in it, and "he thought they were possibly grabbing for a weapon so he fired again wanting to put as many rounds into the back of their truck in hopes that would scare them off and make them leave faster," the affidavit states.
Patterson told police he didn't see how many people were in the truck, nor did he see weapons in it, court documents state.
The four people who were inside the truck told police they drove past the RV to get to a road behind it on the way to hunt rabbits in the valley. According to the affidavit, the area where the RV was parked has "multiple dirt roads, entrances and exits" and is often used for camping and staging.
As they were returning to the area, they saw Patterson get out of his truck and begin shooting in their direction, the affidavit states.
Police said the truck sped up and made it to the main road. After passing the RV and Patterson, the driver slowed down to shift gears, according to the affidavit.
"At that the guy stopped shooting and reloaded his gun and started shooting again. They said the guy then got into his truck and chased after them until they got a ways away from him," police wrote.
Investigators said there were up to three bullet holes around the truck, including one "only inches away from the glass where the rear passenger was seated."
"Based on statements, evidence collected and the location of the RV in relation to the vehicle and where the shots were fired, it was determined that Daniel was not in imminent danger and was not justified in using deadly force," police said.
from Deseret News http://bit.ly/2LM6X5o
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