IRON COUNTY, Utah, Dec. 21, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — An Iron County man allegedly fired an air pistol multiple times after officers attempted to tow a car with him inside.
A probable cause statement from the 5th District Court of Cedar City said Andrew Lee Kaiser, 30, is facing charges of:
- Threat/use of dangerous weapon in a fight, a class A misdemeanor
- Assault against a peace officer, a class A misdemeanor
- Failure to stop at the command of law enforcement, a class A misdemeanor
- Possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor
- Failure to disclose identity, a class B misdemeanor
- Threat of violence, a class B misdemeanor
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
- Disorderly conduct, an infraction
On Sunday at approximately 4:30 a.m., the arresting officer was dispatched to a call of a vehicle partially blocking SR-30 at about mile marker 33.5.
“When I arrived on scene it appeared the vehicle had been abandoned however the windows were heavily tinted and the windshield was frosted over,” the arresting officer wrote. “When the tow truck arrived I found there was a male subject inside the vehicle. The male subject became verbally combative with officers. The subject brandished a firearm and refused to comply with officers.”
The man in the vehicle, later identified as Kaiser, would stick his arm out the window and fire the weapon into an open field to the west of the vehicle, the statement said. Kaiser fired the weapon several times, the statement said. “I was not sure what kind of a weapon it was at the time however it sounded like a pellet gun or a small caliber firearm that was suppressed,” the statement said.
The Iron County SWAT team was dispatched and attempted to call Kaiser out of the vehicle.
“Andrew would not comply with their requests,” the statement said. “The SWAT team entered the vehicle and Andrew fled on foot. Andrew was hit by a less lethal round shortly before he was taken into custody. While SWAT officers were taking Andrew into custody a deputy said Andrew assaulted officers by kicking them.”
After the suspect was taken into custody “it appeared he was in a state of excited delirium due to a possible overdose,” the statement said. “He was placed under the care of the Gold Cross Ambulance Service and transported to the Valley View Medical Center.”
A SIG Sauer P226 air pistol was found in Kaiser’s car, along with a small amount of heroin
and a piece of burnt tinfoil used to consume heroin.
The suspect was transported to Iron County Jail with his bail set at $10,060.
