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Gene Kennedy ReportingTrent Lythgoe, Involved in Confrontation: "I went to try and get the dog and he hit me over the head with a club."
A violent confrontation after a citizen accuses a man of driving under the influence, and this afternoon, there are two very different sides to the story.
The accuser followed the man home, and that's where they got into a fight. But as always, there are two sides to the story, and in this case the differences are pretty significant.
Police believe the accuser's story. They think he was just trying to get a drunk driver off the road. But whatever was said in Salt Lake City this morning, led to a bloody fight.
It ended with three men in cuffs, one with a gash to his head and a car with bullet holes. Now it’s dealing with the aftermath of a he-said, he-said story.
Around 1:30 this morning a citizen called 9-1-1 reporting a drunk driver. The man followed the car to a home off 200 South, 900 East. While telling a dispatcher the address, the citizen says two men came out of the house, one with a pit bull, the other with a rifle. The citizen had a weapon of his own.
Lt. Dave Cracroft, Salt Lake City PD: “The complainant saw the rifle, hit him over the head with a club.”
Trent Lythgoe: “The guy pulled up and started threatening us and he started threatening us, this and that.”
Lythgoe says he brought his pit bull out to just scare the guy away, not hurt him.
Trent Lythgoe: "When he pulled up, we tried to get him gone. I brought my dog out, he's an intimidating looking animal."
Lythgoe claims the citizen attacked the dog with a club, then went after him.
Trent Lythgoe: "And as you can see, I came up here and there's blood splattered all along here."
Staggering into his home, he says, he grabbed a rifle.
Trent Lythgoe: "So I came out and fired the gun into the air so he couldn't get away."
The citizen is fine. He wasn't shot. Meantime, Lythgoe admits he was probably drunk, but says his friend driving the car was sober. Police say that's not true. They're charging David Day with DUI after he allegedly failed a field sobriety test. And Lythgoe faces at least four charges, including aggravated assault, a felony.
Keep in mind, all of this followed what sounded like a noble thing to do, get a drunk driver off the road. Police say the citizen should have never followed that car to the residence.
Police say that's the moral of this story is don't take actions yourself; call police and stay a safe distance from someone you think might be a danger.
