HURRICANE, Utah, May 3, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A man shot Saturday during an altercation in Hurricane has been charged with aggravated assault.
Raul Rivera, 43, was booked Friday into the Washington County Jail on suspicion of:
- Two counts of aggravated assault, a second-degree felony
- Threat of violence, a class B misdemeanor
- Possession of a controlled substance, marijuana/spice, a class B misdemeanor
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
Hurricane Police officials were called to the scene of a reported shooting Saturday, April 27.
“It was reported that one adult male had shot another adult male,” says a probable cause statement filed by a detective with the Hurricane Police Department.
“When officers arrived, they found a male identified as Paul Rivera has been shot in the lower abdomen, and rendered first aid.”
Officers interviewed witnesses and the suspected shooter, Cesar Pinto, who said that Rivera had made verbal threats to both him and his brother-in-law, Jesus Rivera.
Raul Rivera reportedly told the other men he had a 9mm handgun in his vehicle, then removed “a black object” from the vehicle and started advancing toward the two men, the statement says.
“Fearing for his and Jesus’ life, Cesar then pulled a revolver out of his pocket from his jeans and fired one round that struck Raul in the lower abdomen,” the probable cause statement says.
“Raul fell to the ground next to the driver side door of his vehicle. A black-handled screwdriver was found laying on the ground next to where Raul was.”
Investigators discovered the injured man had a lengthy criminal history that included convictions for domestic violence assault and manslaughter, the statement says.
A search warrant was issued for Raul Rivera’s vehicle, a GMC Yukon, the statement says.
“That warrant was executed, and while searching the vehicle, illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia were found in the center console of that car. The illegal narcotics were identified through my training and experience as marijuana. All items were taken into evidence.”
