SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Feb. 9, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Criminal charges were filed on Friday against Justin Gary Llewelyn, the man accused of firing on police in Herriman and shooting a homeowner.
Llewelyn, 33, has been charged in the Jan. 20 incident, which kept a Herriman/Riverton neighborhood on lockdown for more than six hours. Several of Llewelyn’s relatives also have been charged with obstruction of justice in the manhunt before Llewelyn was taken into custody.
Llewelyn now faces charges in 3rd District Court of:
- Two counts of attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony
- Aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony
- Aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony
- Criminal mischief, a third-degree felony
- Failure to stop at the command of an officer, a class A misdemeanor
Also charged Friday were Tasha Rae Llewelyn, 50, who is Justin Llewelyn’s mother, and Misty Nichole Case Llewelyn, 25, the suspect’s sister-in-law. Both face a single charge of obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony for allegedly helping Llewelyn escape capture by police.
The incident began just before 6 a.m. on Jan. 20 when a Unified Police officer investigating a possible car burglary in the area of 13400 S. Mountain View Corridor got into a foot chase with a man believed to be Llewelyn. The officer heard several shots fired, according to reports.
Bullet holes were later found in the officer’s patrol car and in two other parked vehicles, according to charging documents.
In the documents, officials say that Llewelyn then broke into the home of Steve Smith. Smith reported he heard breaking glass, then found Llewelyn in his garage, attempting to steal his car.
Llewelyn yelled at Smith, asking where his car keys were, charging documents say. As Smith attempted to shut the door, he heard two gunshots and discovered he had been hit.
During an intensive search in Herriman, officers searched at least two homes of Llewelyn’s relatives, documents say.
Investigators say that while the search was going on, Tasha Llewelyn was called by her son, who said, “Come, I need help,” and that she picked him up and drove him to another location. Later, she told police she had not seen her son for weeks, charging documents say.
Investigators also say they found text messages on Tasha’s phone, one of which said, “SWAT is going door-to-door, just don’t say anything.”
Another text said she had asked her daughter if she could bring over Justin, who “was in trouble.”
Misty Llewleyn also lied to police when asked if she had seen the suspect, court documents say, but later admitted she had lied to police and instructed other family members to lie, charging documents say. Investigators say a text she sent to other family members said, “If police call, we haven’t seen him.”
Justin Llewelyn’s aunt, Keria Jessica Hartley-Johnson, was charged last month with obstructing justice, a second-degree felony. Investigators say Hartley-Johnson, 35, drove Llewelyn to a hotel in Springville, bought him a cell phone, and was planning to take him to Beaver Dam.
Llewelyn was apprehended four days later at a park in Spanish Fork.
