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HERRIMAN — Early Saturday morning, Steve Smith heard gunshots near his home. He opened his garage door and saw a gun pointed at him.
Smith slammed the door, but it was too late.
One bullet pierced his chest. Another hit his left ribs, he said in an interview Wednesday.
"It's hard to even sleep here — for me, her, the kid," Steve Smith said, referring to his wife and son after a gunman fleeing from police broke into his home, shooting out a glass back door looking for car keys, according to police.
"He ripped our security from us," said Keri Smith, who sat with her husband after his release from a nearby hospital.
Keri Smith, her son, 12, and nephew, 4, were upstairs when they heard glass break. Steve Smith ran upstairs, blocking them from leaving and standing in a pool of his own blood, his friend Chris Wardle said.
"How in God’s (grace) is he alive?” an astonished Wardle said Wednesday.
But as Wardle had dinner with Steve Smith on Tuesday, he was thankful that he was still talking to his friend and not planning his funeral. He said the family had been on edge all week, as the gunman was still at large.
But on Wednesday afternoon, the alleged gunman, Justin Gary Llewelyn, 33, of Riverton, was captured.
"This has been a life-changing event," Keri Smith said. "He was in our house for 30 seconds and he wrecked our whole life."
Wednesday's arrest:
Police arrest man wanted in connection with Riverton shooting
Police have arrested Justin Llewelyn following a chase in Utah County.Their home holds signs of the violent encounter: a shot-out glass door, a fish tank that was shot, blood stains and two heavily damaged vehicles.
But Keri Smith said the family is eager to return to normalcy and "just pick up our pieces and just move on."
Steve Smith is expected to return to work in three or four weeks. A GoFundMe campaign* seeks to raise money to replace their damaged property and help offset medical bills.
Contributing: Alex Cabrero, Nicole Vowell
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
