MONTICELLO, Utah, Aug. 28, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A 22-year-old man has been booked into the San Juan County jail after a fatal shooting Saturday in Monticello.
Sage Jennings Daves, 22, is booked on suspicion of murder, a first-degree felony.
Court documents sharing Daves’ account say that at about 8:40 a.m., Daves’ father called to say a man was “causing issues at their property. Sage Daves left his place of employment in Dove Creek, Colorado, and drove about 20 miles” to the victim’s residence in Monticello, says the affidavit, filed by an officer of the San Juan County Sheriff‘s Office.
“Sage states while they were talking, (the victim) threatened to burn Sage’s family alive,” Daves’ affidavit says, adding the victim “then picked up a pitchfork and came after Sage saying ‘I’m going to gut you,” adding a racial epitaph, according to the statement Daves gave to police.
“Sage then ran to his truck and grabbed his gun from the center console. Sage then states (the victim) stabbed the front of his truck with the pitchfork and continued to threaten Sage.”
Daves told police the victim lunged at him with a pitchfork, so “Sage pointed the gun at (the victim) to get him to stop, but (the victim) instead lunged at Sage with the pitchfork. Sage shot 17 rounds at (the victim) striking him multiple times.”
The victim “had bullet wounds in his left leg, left arm, abdomen, shoulders, chest, and head,” the court documents say. “(He) succumbed to the gunshot wounds and died on the scene.”
Daves was ordered held without bail.
