PROVO, Utah, March 3, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah County Attorney’s office on Wednesday updated charges against Keith Justin Taylor, charged with the Feb. 25 shooting of Provo Police Officer John Oseguera, and the new probable cause statement now contains additional details.
Taylor, 45, originally faced three counts of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony. No deaths resulted from the shooting. Taylor now faces three charges of attempted criminal homicide, aggravated murder, also a first-degree felony.
An additional charge, felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony, remained unchanged.
The new probable cause, like the previous one, states that officers were called to the area of an apartment building after receiving reports of an armed man behaving erratically. Arriving officers found the glass of the front door shot out.
Witnesses directed the four officers to the suspect’s apartment.
“All four officers were in full police uniforms and carrying a police shield. The door to defendant’s apartment was open and bagged groceries were on the building floor in front of the door. Officers made contact with defendant who admitted to shooting out the front door because he said he was being harassed. Defendant was displaying suspicious behavior such as refusing to come out of the apartment and talk to the officers and claiming that he worked for the DEA and NSA.
“One of the officers offered his cell phone to defendant to call his alleged federal supervisor and when defendant reached for the phone, officers attempted to detain the defendant; however, he broke free and ran into the department. Three of the four uniformed officers followed defendant into the apartment as he ran to a back bedroom. When he reached the bedroom, defendant grabbed an assault rifle off the bed and turned to the officers. All three officers were standing in the hallway and drew their service weapons.
“Defendant turned, faced the officers and began shooting rounds from the semi-automatic rifle as fast as he could fire the weapon. The closest officer was hit in the abdomen and fell into an adjacent bathroom.”
The first probable cause statement did not share information about the nature or location of Oseguera’s injuries.
“The other officers took defensive positions and returned fire,” the new statement continues. “As defendant was reloading, he was yelling at the officers: ‘You’re gonna die fꟷꟷkers’; ‘This is your last will and testament.’
“Either through the door or by reaching around, defendant shot the wounded officer on the bathroom floor again with a 9mm handgun twice in the legs at which time the wounded officer fired an entire magazine through the wall at the defendant,” the current statement says.
“During this exchange, the other officers were able to advance and provide cover while the wounded officer exited the apartment and was taken to the hospital with serious gunshot injuries requiring emergency surgery to remove a bullet near his spine and repair a broken leg,” the new probable cause statement says. “After a final barrage of gunfire from the officers, defendant surrendered and was taken into custody.”
Taylor also was taken to the hospital to be treated for a gunshot injury, the nature and location of which has not been disclosed. He was released from the hospital two days later, and booked into the Utah County Jail.
The day after the shooting, the Provo Police Department shared an update on Oseguera, saying he “was alert and in good spirits. His recovery will take time.”
