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MONTICELLO — A former Monticello police sergeant charged with assaulting a man inside his estranged wife's home now faces a new criminal charge.
Jesse Cole Young, 36, of Monticello, was charged on Jan. 26 with witness tampering, a third-degree felony.
The charging documents do not include a probable cause statement, only noting that the alleged incident happened on Dec. 29. Emery County Attorney Michael Olsen declined Monday to say who Young allegedly tampered with or what he did, saying instead that details would be revealed during a preliminary hearing on Feb. 8.
On Dec. 2, Young's estranged wife called 911 to report that Young had entered her home and assaulted a man inside, and then drove away drunk.
But a San Juan County sheriff's sergeant didn't respond to the woman's house until the following morning, several hours later. The emergency dispatcher who took the woman's 911 call contacted Monticello Police Chief Kent Adair before dispatching an officer. The call, which was recorded, raised concerns about how the two reacted to the incident.
Young was fired from the police department after the incident and charged in 7th District Court with aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony, and assault, a class B misdemeanor.
Fallout from the incident also resulted in the Monticello City Council voting to remove Adair as police chief, the dispatcher who took the call being placed on administrative leave, and the sheriff's sergeant who was supposed to respond being demoted to the rank of deputy and suspended without pay for 30 days.
