MURRAY, Utah, Aug. 26, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Police arrested a 40-year-old man who allegedly shot at a SWAT team while barricaded inside a motorhome early Saturday.
Taylor Richards is accused of pointing a rifle out the window of a motorhome and aiming at the chest of another person at an undisclosed location in Murray, according to a probable cause statement filed in 3rd District Court.
Officers with the Murray City Police Department responded about 2:11 a.m. and a SWAT team was later called out assist, arrest documents say.
Police said Richards also had been in contact with a woman who has a protective order against him. A gunshot was heard in a voicemail message Richards allegedly left on the woman’s phone, court documents say.
While officers approached the mobile home, police say Richards fired a shot outside the motorhome. Later, as a SWAT team approached the motorhome, Richards fired another round, “which was described as landing 6 feet in front of the SWAT vehicle,” the affidavit says.
During negotiations with officers, Richards “freely and openly admitted” to recently using mushrooms, ketamine and alcohol, police said.
“The suspect finally surrendered after less than lethal products were introduced into his vehicle,” the affidavit says.
Richards was arrested for investigation of:
- Five counts of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony
- Two counts of felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony
- Possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony
- Violation of a protective order, a class A misdemeanor
- Intoxication, a class C misdemeanor
He is being held without bail in the Salt Lake County jail system.
