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OGDEN — Police say an Ogden man tried to kill two people by shooting his brother and attempting to strangle his sister-in-law.
Colton Gene Shepard, 21, approached his sister-in-law at a park in Ogden on Feb. 10 to talk to her, but "became upset and began striking her in the face with an open hand and closed fist multiple times," according to charging documents. He then allegedly attempted to strangle her.
After the woman got out of the car to get away, Shepard came up from behind her and put a lanyard around her neck and choked her, according to the charges.
"(She) was able to get away from Colton a second time until he caught up to her and (choked) her a third time with his hands," the charges state.
Two bystanders helped the woman by breaking up the altercation and Shepard ran off, police say.
When the woman got to her home in Plain City, she said Shepard was already there. Police believe he entered the house through a doggy door and then grabbed the woman's handgun from a closet and put it in his waistband as he confronted her in the kitchen, the charges state.
As this confrontation was happening, the woman's husband — Shepard's brother — walked in and "grabbed Colton from behind in an attempt to get the gun from him. During that time, Colton pointed the gun at (the man) and fired twice at him, striking him in the abdomen and right forearm," according to the charges.
A friend of the husband then walked in and Shepard pointed the gun at him and threatened to kill him, the court documents allege.
"(The man) was able to put his hand up and push the gun out of his direction prior to it being fired. (The man) received a small laceration on his hand which is believed to have been caused by slide of the firearm when it was fired. The firearm was dropped and the confrontation moved outside to the front of the residence where Colton was restrained until police arrived," the charges state.
The woman's 8-year-old daughter was inside the house the entire time and hid upstairs. She told police "she was able to hear three gunshots and yelling."
From Friday:
Man shot trying to disarm gunman at woman's home in Plain City, police say
A man was shot Wednesday after he tried to disarm another man who entered a woman's home with a handgun, according to Weber County Sheriff's Office.After his arrest, Shepard was ordered not to contact the woman, but charges say he contacted her twice in three days.
Shepard was charged Tuesday in 2nd District Court with two counts of attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony; possession of a firearm by a restricted person and theft, second-degree felonies; aggravated assault and two counts of violating a jail release agreement, third-degree felonies; and criminal mischief, a class B misdemeanor.
