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SARATOGA SPRINGS — Susan Hunt, the mother of a man shot and killed by two Saratoga Springs police officers, pleaded guilty Friday to charges stemming from a scuffle with cops after violating an agreement that would have dismissed the case.
Hunt, 53, pleaded guilty Friday to failure to disperse, a class C misdemeanor, and disorderly conduct, reduced from a class C misdemeanor to an infraction. Additional misdemeanors for interfering with an arresting officer and driving on a denied license were dismissed.
A 60-day jail sentence for Hunt was suspended Friday, and the Saratoga Springs woman was ordered to pay a $250 fine for each of the charges, which she can instead pay through community service, according to court records. Hunt was also placed on probation for nine months, including an order to obey all laws and continue grief counseling.
According to the charges, Hunt instigated an altercation in October 2014 with Saratoga Springs police, whom she had apparently confronted after they stopped someone near the site where her son had been shot.
Darrien Hunt, 22, was shot six times by two police officers who had confronted him on Sept. 10, 2014, about a souvenir katana sword he was carrying. Hunt was shot in the back as he ran from the officers, who said they believed he was a threat to patrons in nearby businesses and restaurants.
The officers — Saratoga Springs Police Cpl. Matt Schauerhamer and officer Nicholas Judson — were found to be legally justified in killing Hunt.
Susan Hunt was on track in September to resolve the case against her through a diversion agreement, which would have dismissed the charges after six months as long as she didn't violate any laws.
That deal, however, was violated when Hunt was arrested in January after police say she was stopped driving dangerously on the wrong side of the road along state Route 73 near Stockton, Tooele County.
She was later charged with reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor; driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, a class B misdemeanor; having an open container inside a vehicle on a highway, a class C misdemeanor; and driving on the wrong side of the road, an infraction.
A hearing in that case is scheduled for July 19 in 3rd District Court in Tooele.
In February, U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell ordered Hunt to accept a $900,000 settlement with the city of Saratoga Springs over the death of her son. In April, Campbell also dismissed the federal civil rights lawsuit Susan Hunt had filed over the death of her son.
