Utah man accused of trying to kill officers with bow and arrow

A bow-wielding Duchesne County man faces several attempted murder charges and an aggravated assault charge after allegedly firing arrows at police and another man.

Michael L. Weaver, 47, is charged in 8th District Court with four attempted aggravated murder counts and disarming a police officer, each of which carries a potential life sentence. He is also charged with three counts of threat of terrorism, for which he could serve up to 15 years, and two counts of propelling bodily substance at a correctional or peace officer, a lesser charge that carries a maximum five-year sentence.

Weaver had allegedly been making threats over the phone Sunday related to another case he is involved in, which brought Duchesne County Sheriff's deputies to 6070 N. Tabby Lane in Tabiona, said Anthony Wilcox, a prosecutor for Duchesne County, who believes it was Weaver's home. Weaver had been charged on July 3 with aggravated assault and disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

In that case, Weaver is accused of chasing someone around a truck with a crossbow while trying to shoot him, according to a probable cause statement. When the officer who arrested Weaver took him to the hospital for treatment of an injury, Weaver started banging his head against the wall, and once the officer got him to the ground, he also started banging his head against the floor, the statement adds.

While deputies were dealing with Weaver on Sunday in connection with the alleged threats, a stand-off began.

"I asked him about the handgun" he reportedly had, an officer wrote in a probable cause statement. "[Weaver] said that if he had a gun he would of shot me with it."

Weaver then brandished a knife, so officers backed off and called for back-up, Wilcox said.

"I told Mike to drop the knife, he replied 'lets getter done,' " the officer added in his statement. The officer told him again to drop the knife, but Weaver retreated into the house.

Later in the stand-off, Weaver broke out a window, pulled out a compound bow and started shooting arrows at the officers, the attorney said. The probable cause statement adds that Weaver said he was trying to kill two of the officers during the stand-off.

The officers, who were not hit by the arrows, forced entry into the home and took him into custody.

Officers suspected Weaver may have overdosed on his medications, so he was taken to a local hospital to get checked out before being booked into jail.

At the hospital, Weaver tried to grab an officer's gun, according to the statement. He later pulled an intravenous tube out of himself, let it fill with blood and then tossed it at the deputies who were guarding him, the statement adds.

Weaver is scheduled to make his first court appearance Thursday.

According to Utah court records, Weaver pleaded guilty in 2010 in two separate cases — one for aggravated assault and another for violating a protective order.

mmcfall@sltrib.com

Twitter: @mikeypanda