SOUTH JORDAN — The police shooting of a man wanted in connection with the killing of a Magna mother and the attempted killing of her young daughter has been ruled legally justified.

Even though Jason Alan Black, 26, did not fire a shot at the officers, the shooting was determined to be justified because he did not drop his gun when officers ordered him to, because of the "movements" he was making with the gun, and because of the violent allegations already against him, according to a report from the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office.

On May 31, Natalia Casagrande, 24, was found dead in the basement of her Magna home of a gunshot wound. Black, who police say had been at the house before to purchase marijuana, allegedly showed up unscheduled. Investigators say he killed Casagrande and then tried to kill her 5-year-old daughter by suffocating her with a throw pillow.

The Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team of the U.S. Marshals Service developed information that led them to the home of Black's parents, 10254 Temple View Circle in South Jordan, and it went to the house on June 2 with a search warrant.

Black's father answered the door and told the officers that his son was in the basement.

Unified police officer Aaron Lavin and deputy Evans of the U.S. Marshal's Office reported seeing Black at the bottom of the stairs holding what appeared to be a handgun. The report did not identify Evans' first name.

"Officer Lavin said he ordered Mr. Black several times (to) 'put the gun down' and also said, 'Jason, you don’t want to do this,'" according to the district attorney's report. 'Officer Lavin said that Mr. Black shook his head 'no' and officer Lavin said he felt Mr. Black was indicating he was not going to follow officer Lavin’s orders."

Evans told investigators that he "couldn’t see Mr. Black’s right hand so he ordered Mr. Black to show him his right hand. As Mr. Black turned, deputy Evans said he 'could clearly see that he was holding a handgun in his right hand with the muzzle pointed down toward the ground.' Deputy Evans said, 'As soon as I saw the gun I yelled, "Drop it, drop it!,"'" the report states.

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After his common-law wife was killed and his 5-year-old daughter nearly suffocated in their Magna home, Steven Arceo called the man who he believed had just been inside his house, Jason Alan Black.

But when the officers "observed a slight movement of the weapon," Evans said a split-second decision had to be made.

"I had … to assess the threat posed by Black and based on my knowledge of Black’s history of violence, his previous use of a weapon to murder a civilian, his continued non-compliance with commands to drop the gun, and the movement of the weapon despite his awareness of police officers pointing their weapons right at him, I feared that Black was about to raise the weapon to shoot at me," Evans said. "In order to stop this threat I fired two rounds from my handgun at Black."

Lavin also fired one round for a total of three shots fired at Black.

Black was taken to the hospital where he was treated for his injuries. He survived and was later charged with aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery, all first-degree felonies; and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.

When interviewed by the district attorney's office for the shooting investigation, Black said "he turned to put the gun down and police told him to go slow. Mr. Black said that he didn’t believe he turned the weapon at or towards the police. Mr. Black said he turned so that his left shoulder was facing the police so he could slowly put the gun down because he said he was afraid the police were going to shoot him. Mr. Black said he doesn’t remember anything after that. Mr. Black said he woke up in the hospital in pain the next day."

During a hearing in 3rd District Court Monday, Black's attorneys asked for more time to go over evidence in the case and indicated they hope to discuss a plea bargain with prosecutors, according to the court docket.

Black's next court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5.

An alleged accomplice, Estephania Sanchez-Mendoza, 24, of West Jordan, was also charged with obstructing justice, a second-degree felony. Police say she was at Casagrande's home waiting in the driveway as a getaway driver at the time of the killing. After the shooting, she rented a hotel room for Black in Sandy and bought him new clothes, according to charging documents.

For Lavin, this is the second officer-involved shooting he has been involved with that has been ruled justified. In 2013, while working the U.S. Marshal Service's Joint Criminal Apprehension Team, Lavin was one of five officers who fired 43 shots against a man who fired a shot at the team while running.

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