HEBER CITY — The Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday that it is looking at all possible scenarios surrounding the shooting death of a man near the entrance of Jordanelle State Park in September, including whether the victim was actually the aggressor.
“We are fully investigating this matter for all possible crimes, including homicide, and considering all defenses, including self-defense,” the sheriff’s office said.
The announcement comes as investigators provided an update on the Sept. 26 killing of Patrick L. Hayes, 61, of Hideout, Wasatch County, who was found dead outside a car on the shoulder of a roadway near the Ross Creek Day Use Area. Police said the car had been sitting there for hours with the blinker on before it was reported.
The sheriff’s office announced Tuesday that while executing a search warrant, deputies recovered the gun they believe was used to kill Hayes. The department did not specify where the firearm was found.
Wednesday afternoon, however, the department confirmed detectives have identified the other driver in the case and spoken with him. No arrests or charges had been filed as of Wednesday.
The sheriff’s office also said: “Prior to Mr. Hayes’ death, he appears to have been involved in a road rage incident where he approached another vehicle, and with a metal baton and pocket knife in hand, aggressively called the other driver out of the vehicle. Ultimately, the driver of the second vehicle appears to have shot and killed Mr. Hayes. At this time, we are analyzing evidence as to whether Mr. Hayes was attempting to enter the vehicle.”
Evidence has been submitted to the Utah State Crime Lab for analysis in hopes of “determining the circumstances of the situation leading up to and resulting in Hayes’ death,” according to the statement.
The sheriff’s office noted that Hayes’ family has been “cooperative, kind, and helpful throughout the investigation.”
A statement from the Hayes family Wednesday said they believe the incident was “an unjustified homicide.”
“Patrick Hayes will be remembered as a kind, loving, and caring person. We are aware of the statement made by the investigating agency in charge of finding out what truly happened to Patrick,” the statement said. “We do not believe that this was self-defense from the man who killed Patrick as it has been alluded to by the perpetrator in his statements to police.”
The family further said they have “many questions” but will wait until the county attorney files charges to ask them.
“We believe in our hearts that this was an unjustified homicide, and we hope that the evidence and investigation proves that,” they said.
“We hope that the detectives will wrap up their investigation soon so that we may receive and pursue justice for Patrick. We want to thank the detectives for their diligent work in seeking out the truth. We ask the public to wait out the results of the investigation before making uninformed comments or opinions; no one is more anxious than we are to get a resolution in this part of our lives. We will never truly recover from this, but we hope that justice will prevail,” the statement said.
“My dad was always making people laugh; he was always larger than life, almost 6-foot-6, so he was larger than all of us, but he also had a big personality and loved hard,” Christian Hayes said during an October press conference. “He loved everyone, swimming, water polo — he touched the community forever.”
Contributing: Shara Park
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