Utah man who drew gun, ran from police will be freed after year in jail

A 36-year-old man accused of drawing a gun as he fled from a Taylorsville police officer last year will soon be a free man.

Bryan W. Manseau was sentenced Monday to spend one year in jail. But because Manseau has been in custody since March 1, 2012, he will be set free, and his case dismissed, after being given credit for time served, according to court documents.

Manseau pleaded guilty earlier this year in 3rd District Court to possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony, and failure to stop at the command of law enforcement, a misdemeanor. He could have been sentenced to up to five years in Utah State prison.

But Judge Randall Skanchy suspended all prison time.

Manseau was tracked down by Taylorsville police last year because a misdemeanor warrant had been issued for his arrest. He was walking down the street in Kearns when an officer approached him.

The officer, Brett Miller, was assigned to a team of federal agents and local officers charged with the task of arresting fugitives.

But before Miller could take Manseau into custody, officials said, Manseau took off running.

Miller chased him down the street and saw Manseau place one hand in his coat pocket, according to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office. Manseau dropped, then retrieved, the object from a snow bank, officials said, and Miller could see it was a gun.

When Miller ordered Manseau to stop and drop the gun, Manseau kept running.

The district attorney said Miller was concerned Manseau would open fire after ducking behind a building at 4790 S. 4900 West, so he fired a shot at Manseau. But the bullet hit the tire of a parked car near the apartment building.

Manseau was taken into custody moments later, and Miller was cleared of any wrongdoing by the district attorney's office.

mlang@sltrib.com

Twitter: marissa_jae