Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
NEPHI — A Minnesota man was charged Wednesday with multiple felonies accusing him of shooting an innocent bystander while attempting to carjack his vehicle before getting into a shootout with police, sparking a massive manhunt.
James Howard Klein, 33, of Stillwater, Minnesota, is charged in Juab County's 4th District Court with four counts of attempted aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count of aggravated robbery, all first-degree felonies; two counts of theft, a second-degree felony; two counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, and failing to stop at the command of police, both third-degree felonies; and altering the serial number on a gun, a class A misdemeanor.
In addition, the woman who police say was with Klein that day when they were initially pulled over on I-15, Jennifer Huang, 43, of Roseville, Minnesota, was charged with drug possession with intent to distribute, a second-degree felony; possession of a gun by a restricted person, and drug possession within a correctional facility, both third-degree felonies; altering the serial number on a gun, a class A misdemeanor; marijuana possession, a class B misdemeanor; and giving false ID to a police officer, a class C misdemeanor.
On May 19, Klein and Huang were pulled over on I-15 near Scipio for a traffic violation. Deputies soon "developed a suspicion" that drugs were in the vehicle and were preparing to search it when Klein climbed into a Juab County sheriff's patrol vehicle and drove off, according to charging documents.
Klein drove about two miles north on I-15 and took the exit to Yuba Lake. He failed to make the turn onto Old Yuba Dam Road and the stolen patrol vehicle crashed and was unable to continue moving, according to a police booking affidavit.
He then grabbed a police rifle that was inside the vehicle, waked out to the off-ramp, flagged down the next passing vehicle, and then pointed the stolen rifle at the driver, "stating he would shoot her if she didn't give him a ride," according to the charges.
The passenger who was in the car, a man, grabbed the barrel of the rifle and pushed it away so it wasn't pointing at the woman's head, the charges state.
"When this happened, (Klein) shot the rifle. The bullet entered the dashboard of the vehicle between the driver and the passenger and caused the vehicle's airbags to deploy. The shot temporarily disabled the vehicle," according to the charging documents.
Klein then opened a door and again demanded a ride and threatened to shoot the couple if they did not comply, police say. As this was happening, pursuing officers had caught up to Klein.
Just as officers were coming up the off-ramp, the woman was able to start her vehicle and began to drive off.
"As she was driving away, (Klein) shot at the passenger, hitting him in the leg, causing serious bodily injury to the passenger's leg and knee. (He then) shot another round into the vehicle as it was driving away. The round entered the car, striking the driver's headrest, just behind where her head was, and fragmented," according to the charges.
Klein then switched his attention to police and "began shooting at the officers with multiple bullets entering the officers' vehicles. The officers exchanged gunfire with (Klein), one of them hitting him in the leg," the charges say.
Police say Klein continued shooting at the officers while lying under the sheriff's patrol vehicle that he had stolen. He then walked down an embankment and tried to hide in a culvert near the Sevier River, according to the charges.
Officers from numerous agencies responded to the area to track down Klein.
"Klein concealed himself in the Sevier River where he was located by Utah County Metro SWAT (officers) and taken into custody. At the time of Klein's arrest, he was still in possession of the AR-15 rifle stolen from the Juab County deputy's vehicle," the affidavit states.
Meanwhile, officers searching the vehicle that Klein was originally in when he was pulled over found 9 pounds of methamphetamine in the trunk, according to charging documents for Huang. A backpack containing drugs that allegedly belonged to Huang was also found, as well as a loaded handgun.
When she was taken to jail, Huang at first lied about her name, the charges state. Police said they then discovered that she was still carrying drugs when she entered the jail.
In the booking affidavit for Klein, police noted that he "is a known violent felon who has a history of violence and assault and shooting at police," and he has a pending case in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, where he is accused of shooting at two police officers during a shoplifting investigation. According to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office in Minnesota, Klein was charged in that case in March 2020 with two counts of first-degree assault and one count of felon in possession of ammunition and firearm.
