Sandy man killed by police remembered as good father with troubled past

SANDY — A Sandy man shot and killed by police Wednesday had a long history of criminal activity that appears to have been fuled by drug use and domestic violence problems.

But a neighbor remembered Jeff R. Nielson, 34, on Thursday as a good neighbor and devoted father of three.

"Great guy. He was a very good father. He was a great neighbor. We had a really good relationship with him. He seemed very much like a normal guy," Rob Flygare said.

According to a gofundme memorial account set up for Nielson, "his children were his greatest joy in life."

But Flygare also knew there had been trouble of late.

Nielson and his wife were separated. His wife had a court order requiring Nielson to stay away from the house. But he would keep coming back and Flygare said police had been at the home "numerous" times in the past few weeks.

"If Jeff contacted me I was supposed to call 911," he said.

On Wednesday, in an ordinarily quiet Draper neighborhood, West Valley police officer Jason Vincent spotted a dark SUV parked suspiciously near his house as he was on his way to work. Other neighbors said they had seen the vehicle parked there for at least an hour earlier.

Nielson was slumped over the steering wheel. As Vincent called for backup officers, he went to check on the man. After talking to Nielson, Vincent and Draper police officers attempted to arrest him for some kind of narcotics violation.

But at some point, Nielson ran back into his vehicle and got into the driver's seat. As four police officers attempted to pull him out of the vehicle, they said Nielson then pulled out a large kitchen knife. Moments later, Vincent shot and killed him.

The shooting seemed to culminate a series of ongoing problems for the former businessman, husband, Ultimate Fighting fan and father.

"We know that there had been some domestic problems between him and his wife. We also understood there was a separation. There was some sort of a restraining order against him," Flygare said.

Court records show that his estranged wife filed for a protective order against him last month.

On Dec. 6, Nielson entered an apartment where his estranged wife was staying "without permission and began arguing" with her, according to court records. One witness described Nielson as "enraged." He was later charged in 3rd District Court with trespassing, a class A misdemeanor, and assault, a class B misdemeanor.

On Dec. 24, Nielson was arrested by Sandy police for failing to stop at the command of a law enforcer and violating a protective order, according to a police report.

Flygare said as recently as last week Nielson had been in the area asking about his estranged wife, who by that time was living at an undisclosed location.

In fact, in the past six weeks, Sandy police said Nielson was associated with eight separate cases they investigated. Five of those were for a protective order violation, including three that occurred in January.

Nielson was charged with assault and domestic violence in the presence of a child on Sept. 10. Identical charges were field in a separate case on July 7, according to court records.

Prior to his domestic problems, Nielson was a businessman who was charged with numerous theft, forgery and burglary charges in several cases between 2004 and 2005. At one point, judges ordered Nielson to serve concurrent jail sentences on five separate cases, according to court records.

In nearly all of Nielson's convictions during those years, a judge also ordered him to undergo some type of substance abuse treatment.

Nielson was mentioned in a 2012 Salt Lake City Weekly cover story entitled "Phone Predators." According to the article, Nielson was one of the main players behind JNJ Consulting. "Between 2004 and 2005, Nielson faced 32 criminal charges, including felony and misdemeanor charges from crimes committed in Fillmore, Provo and Salt Lake City. The allegations ranged from forging an $80,000 check to snatching the purse of a woman loading groceries into her car at a West Jordan Smith’s," the paper reported.

Nielson successfully petitioned the court to have one of his 2005 burglary convictions reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor. But not everyone agreed with the decision.

A letter written to the court by Josh and Danielle Lindsay in 2010 stated in part: "Jeffrey R. Nielson has a long history of violence, drug abuse and financial related crimes. While I believe that some people can actually rehabilitate and move forward as productive citizens, I am positive this is not the case with Jeffrey R. Nielson."

Lindsay described Nielson as a former business partner who threatened him and his family.

"I am terrified of seeing him in person," he wrote.

The Lindsays also included a civil stalking injunction they filed in court against Nielson. They claimed that Nielson sent Josh Lindsay a text in 2010 that stated, "I don't want to hurt you or your family, Josh, but I will!!!"

Nielson was also convicted of disorderly conduct in 2004 and 2008, criminal mischief involving domestic violence in 2009, and assault involving serious bodily injury in 2010 for which he was ordered to undergo an anger management program, according to court records.

Nielson's business dealings made him a topic of conversation on the consumer website complaintsboard.com and ripoffreport.com.

"Jeff Nielson is a local scam artist that poses as a legitimate businessman," one person wrote on the complaint board.

Vincent is on standard paid administrative leave pending an investigation of the shooting by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office.

Draper police said Thursday they will likely soon release the video from one of their officer's body camera that reportedly captured the incident.

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