Man charged for firing gun into crowd of people; fleeing police

Prosecutors charged a 23-year-old man Wednesday for firing a gun at a crowd of people; injuring one man and then later fleeing from police.

On Jan. 7, an employee at a Rancheritos restaurant near 3700 West and 5400 South was taking orders when a man made a racial comment about Tongans, according to court documents. A group of Polynesian men in the restaurant overheard the comment and the group took the argument outside.

At some point during the argument, the man pulled out a gun and fired a shot in the air as the Tongan men were coming toward him, court documents state. When they didn't stop, the man fired "four or five more shots at them."

One of the shots hit a Polynesian man in his right hip and fractured his femur.

The man who fired the gun, ran from the scene, charging documents state. Police saw the man running down Bangerter Highway and ordered him to stop. He continued to flee and tried to hide, but officers were able to catch up with him.

The man was charged in 3rd District Court with three counts of discharge of a firearm, and aggravated assault, all third-degree felonies; discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony; possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a second-degree felony; and failure to stop at the command of a police officer, a class A misdemeanor.

The man is being held in the Salt Lake County jail on $100,000 bail.

cimaron@sltrib.com

Twitter: @CimCity