SANTAQUIN, Utah, May 12, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — An Indiana man accused of intentionally hitting and killing Santaquin Police Sgt. Bill Hooser with a semitrailer May 5 has been booked into jail following a weeklong hospital stay, court documents say.
Arrest documents for Michael Aaron Jayne, 42, of Garrett, Indiana, also provide more information about the early morning incident that led to Hooser’s death.
Jayne was booked into the Utah County Jail on Saturday for investigation of:
- Aggravated murder, a first-degree felony
- Two counts of murder, a first-degree felony
- Aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony
- Aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony
- Three counts of receive or transfer of a stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony
- Failure to respond to officers’ signal to stop, a third-degree felony
Law enforcement in Utah and Juab counties were alerted just before 6 a.m. about a semitrailer headed north on Interstate 15 about 6 miles south of Juab with “an individual riding on the back of the trailer,” according to a probable cause statement filed by the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
The caller, who refused to give his name, told dispatchers the Hells Angels were targeting the truck’s driver, the affidavit says.
Sheriff’s deputies from both counties responded along with Utah Highway Patrol troopers to intercept the semi.
Hooser was positioned on the freeway median and spotted the semi as it approached the Santaquin Main Street exit. The Santaquin sergeant quickly caught up to the semi as it exited the freeway, ran through a stop sign at the bottom of the offramp and then continued up the onramp to northbound I-15, court documents say.
When the semi stopped, Hooser parked directly behind the truck, and a UHP trooper parked behind and slightly to the right of Hooser’s patrol vehicle, the affidavit says.
While Hooser and the trooper attempted to talk the driver, later identified as Jayne, a woman “emerged from the sleeper section of the cab and jumped out of the passenger side door,” according to court documents.
The woman then ran to the back of the trailer and around the other side with her hands up and asked for help, the affidavit says.
The woman later told police she had been “voluntarily riding with Jayne until the two had gotten into an argument at a truck stop in Beaver,” according to court documents.
“Jayne initially drove off, however, returned several times to convince [the woman] to get back in the semi-truck with him, which she refused to do. During his last attempt, Jayne threatened [her] with chemical bear spray and a knife. [She] got back into the semi-truck due to the threats of violence,” the affidavit says.
Hooser and the trooper spoke briefly with the woman next to his vehicle, then started started walking back to the semi to detain Jayne, court documents say.
The trooper reached for the driver’s side door handle and ordered Jayne to exit the vehicle. Instead, Jayne locked the door, put the truck in gear and started to drive away, the affidavit says.
As the sergeant and trooper ran back to their vehicles, Jayne made a sharp U-turn in the northbound lanes and began to head south directly toward the officers and woman, according to court documents.
“Jayne accelerated the semi-truck very quickly to the point that black smoke was billowing out of the exhaust smokestack as it continued” in the direction of the officers and woman, the affidavit says.
“Sgt. Hooser was in the doorjamb of his patrol vehicle when he saw Jayne and the semi-truck careening towards him. As Sgt. Hooser moved away from the doorjamb, he began to run towards the rear of his vehicle. Jayne turned the truck directly towards Sgt. Hooser. Jayne accelerated the semi-truck until it struck Sgt. Hooser’s back,” according to court documents.
The semi’s grill and bumper pushed Hooser into the UHP patrol car, killing him, the affidavit says.
After hitting and killing Hooser, Jayne accelerated the semi in the direction of the trooper and woman, who “were able to narrowly escape being struck,” court documents say.
Jayne then drove about 100 feet on the shoulder of the road before stopping, getting out of the semi and fleeing on foot, the affidavit says. The man jumped a fence and ran to a nearby gas station, where he unsuccessfully tried to steal two vehicles before finding a semitrailer with the doors unlocked and the keys inside, the affidavit says.
Jayne fled in the semi to Mona, where he abandoned the stolen vehicle and stole a 1976 Ford F-250, which also had the keys inside, according to court documents.
Jayne drove south to Nephi, then to Mt. Pleasant, where he found a remote house with no one home, court documents say.
After looking though the windows of the home, Jayne parked the F-250 in the garage, stole a pair of boots and the keys to a white Ford F-150, the affidavit says.
The F-150’s owners reported the truck as stolen, and UHP troopers later spotted it near Vernal, according to court documents.
Troopers attempted to stop Jayne, who fled at speeds topping 100 mph, on occasion driving toward “other vehicles traveling the opposite direction,” the affidavit says. Troopers successfully performed a PIT maneuver, causing Jayne to lose control of the vehicle, drive off the road and crash.
He was taken into custody and transported to a hospital for medical care.
Police say Jayne has an extensive criminal history that includes violent offenses dating back more than 20 years. His convictions include assault on an officer with a deadly weapon, battery on an officer, resisting arrest, threats of violence toward police, and domestic violence assault, according to court documents.
In 2010, Jayne pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree felony attempted assault and possessing body armor as a felon, the affidavit says. He was on federal probation at the time of his arrest.
Jayne is being held without bail in the Utah County Jail.
Funeral services for Hooser, 50, are scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at the UCCU Events Center at Utah Valley University.
