Man fires AK-47 into ceiling during domestic fight, charges state

Police had to shock an Orem man with a stun gun after he allegedly fired several rounds from an AK-47 into the ceiling of his house during an argument with his wife. | Adobe Stock

OREM — Police had to shock an Orem man with a stun gun after he allegedly fired several rounds from an AK-47 into the ceiling of his house during an argument with his wife.

Scott Andrew Wiersema, 50, of Orem, was charged Thursday in 4th District Court with four counts of discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony.

On Sunday, Orem police were called to a report of a family fight with shots fired, according to charging documents.

“Officers arrived and heard a female in the home in distress and yell, ‘No! Don’t!’” according to charging documents.

“Scott was yelling angrily and cursing at his wife telling her everything was her fault and he was done,” a Utah County Jail report added.

Because of the volatile situation, officers who had positioned themselves around the house attempted to kick down the door, the charges state. But just as they began kicking the door, the wife opened it.

“The female who had been heard yelling came out the front door, followed by the defendant who was holding an AK-47 pointed at his own chest,” the charges state.

“Negotiations began between officers and Scott and lasted approximately 10 minutes. Scott refused to put the gun down and stated he would be dead in a few minutes. He gave multiple time deadlines saying he would be killing himself soon,” the jail report added.

When an officer noticed Wiersema had taken his hand off the trigger, he quickly acted by deploying his Taser, according to the charges.

After Wiersema was taken into custody, police checked out the house and found “15 bullet holes in the ceiling ... but only four spent shell casings. The magazine had a capacity of 30 rounds and only had 18 remaining rounds (plus one chambered round),” the charges state.

Wiersema was also arrested in May 5, 2018, for investigation of disorderly conduct and other offenses. According to a Sanpete County Jail booking report, police and fire officials and paramedics were attending to an accident near Mt. Pleasant when a car driven by Wiersema tried to pass a large semi in a zone where police were trying to get vehicles to slow down and move over.

A Mt. Pleasant police officer had Wiersema — who appeared to be upset — pull off to the side, the report states.

“The driver displayed further signs of frustration and aggressively pulled his wallet from his back pocket. His wife appeared scared or intimidated by the driver. And she told him to stay calm,” according to the report.

When the officer asked him to step out of his car, Wiersema “rapidly and aggressively pushed his door open. The door struck my left arm and leg as I was attempting to move out of the way. ... He exited aggressively arguing with me. I turned him and pushed him toward the vehicle. He continued to argue with me and resisted as I was trying to pull his arm behind his back,” the report states.

When the officers talked to his wife, she said she was concerned for the officers’ safety “and Scott has anger issues,” according to the report.

He pleaded guilty to two infractions, including disorderly conduct, and ordered to pay a fine, court records state.

In 2012, Wiersema pleaded no contest to child abuse, a class A misdemeanor, according to court records.

Help for people in abusive relationships can be found by contacting the YWCA’s Women in Jeopardy program at 801-537-8600, or the confidential statewide Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online at udvc.org.

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