MILLARD COUNTY, Utah, June 26, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A teenager has been charged with two felonies after allegedly shooting multiple bullets at a Delta residence on June 20.
Joshua Baer, 18, has been charged on suspicion of two first-degree felonies: attempted aggravated murder and felony discharge of a firearm. Baer is being held on a $250,000 cash-only bond.
The Millard County Sheriff’s Office released the following statement:
“Confident that there are others involved, we continue to aggressively investigate this criminal act and are offering a $2,000 reward for any additional information regarding accomplices, weapons, vehicles, or other information that leads to the successful prosecution and conviction of those involved.”
A probable cause statement filed in Baer’s case says that deputies responded to shots fired calls at 1:30 a.m. on June 20 in the area of 350 West and 100 North. At the scene, deputies met with a man who said his wife had been shot in the head.
The man “told deputies that he had heard noises in front of his residence and looked out the front door to see who or what was making the noises. (He) reported that he saw an individual standing in or near the street in front of his residence. (He) then saw that the individual was pointing a red laser beam at him.”
The man quickly closed the door, then heard “a barrage of gunfire,” the statement says. He also heard several bullets hit his residence, he told deputies.
“Deputies also located five bullet holes in the front of the house and located four discharged bullets associated with those holes, including the bullet that struck (the man’s wife) in the head,” the statement says, adding that additional bullets were found in trees and cars in front of or near the residence.
The man said “the person standing in the street just prior to the shooting appeared to be the same person that had been at (the man’s) residence earlier in the evening and with whom (he) had been involved in a verbal altercation.”
The witness said it was “too dark to see features clearly, but stated that the person had the same build and appeared to be the same size as the person he had argued with earlier in the evening.”
The witness said he was not acquainted with the person he had argued with, “but described him as small, thin, very young looking, and possibly Hispanic” and driving a gray Volkswagen sedan.
“Neighbors who witnessed the earlier altercation identified the young man who had been arguing with (the male victim) earlier in the evening as Joshua Baer. Witnesses told deputies that Baer was wearing camouflage pants and a dark shirt during the earlier altercation.”
Deputies went to a nearby home where Baer was known to be staying, and found his gray Volkswagen Jetta parked in the driveway, the probable cause statement says.
“Deputies noted that both the exhaust pipe and the hood of the car were still hot to the touch.”
Deputies obtained a search warrant, then informed Baer they were looking for clothing he was wearing earlier that evening, the statement says. Baer told officers the clothes were in the washing machine, where officers found them still on the wash cycle.
The clothing matched the outfit described by witnesses to the earlier altercation, the statement says.
No additional information has been released on the condition of the female victim.
