Man arrested after allegedly firing shots at police


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MAGNA — A shootout with police occurred outside a bank Thursday, but no one was injured.

The incident began just before 2 p.m. outside Wells Fargo Bank at 8295 W. 3500 South. Three officers had been called to the bank on a report of a man trying to pass a bad check, said Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal. They arrived just as a man was running out of the bank.

Police chased after the man, who ran 100 to 150 yards before turning and shooting multiple rounds at the officers with a "semiautomatic machine pistol," said Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder.

One officer returned fire, at which point the suspect laid down on the pavement and was taken into custody, Winder said. One bullet struck a parked vehicle nearby, but no one was hit or injured.

Michael Joseph, 33, of Magna, was arrested. He was being questioned Thursday afternoon before being booked into jail. Hoyal said detectives were trying to determine, among other things, if the man was working alone.

Schools in the area were temporarily locked down following the shooting. Investigators also closed 3500 South between 8200 West and 8300 West as they gathered evidence.

According to Utah state court records, Joseph was convicted in 2012 of violating a protective order and was sentenced to one year in jail. In 2007 he was convicted of attempting to pose as another person. In 1998 he was convicted of weapons violations and sentenced to jail. In 1997, a jury acquitted Joseph on a charge of assault by a prisoner, according to court records. In 1996, Joseph pleaded no contest to forcible sexual abuse and was sentenced to one to 15 years at the Utah State Prison.


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