WEST JORDAN, Utah, July 2, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A 44-year-old man is facing 11 charges, eight of them felonies, after allegedly pointing a shotgun at West Jordan police and civilians Saturday night.
WJPD officers responded to a call of a man holding a shotgun, and ultimately took suspect Ellery Stanton Jensen into custody at about 9 p.m., according to charging documents.
The call sent officers, in police cars with lights and sirens activated, to the area of 8400 S. 2700 West.
“When I was in the area, I saw the AP (arrested party) with what appeared to be a shotgun in his hands,” charging documents say. “The AP pointed the shotgun at me and another officer when we arrived and got out of my vehicle in our marked West Jordan Police uniforms.
“I and the other officer commanded that the AP drop the weapon and he ignored our commands. The AP did not drop the weapon until another officer shot him with pepper ball munitions.”
Witnesses told the officers they were driving on 2700 West when the suspect, then in the middle of the road, pointed the shotgun at them.
“The driver was so fearful for his life that he said he thought about driving into and hitting the AP with their vehicle.
“Another set of witnesses who were driving on 2700 West stated the AP pointed the shotgun at them from the middle of the road in the continuous left turn lane. This led the driver of the vehicle to speed up in case the AP shot so it would hit the back of their vehicle.”
A resident “stated they saw the AP with the gun. They also stated they saw the AP point the gun at one car and one police vehicle as they drove by. The witness stated as the cars passed by the AP would act as if they were shooting the car. The witness said the AP was screaming and yelling.”
One officer had dashcam video of the suspect pointing a gun at the police vehicle as it passed, the probable cause statement says.
Jensen was charged on suspicion of:
- Four counts of assault on a peace officer with use of a dangerous weapon, a second-degree felony
- Four counts of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony
- Interference with arresting officer, a class B misdemeanor
- Pedestrian yielding right of way, an infraction
- Disorderly conduct, an infraction
He was ordered held without bail in the Salt Lake County jail system.
