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SALT LAKE CITY — A West Valley man was sentenced Tuesday to a term of between three and 15 years in prison for murdering a man who was visiting him.
A jury convicted Glen Hogue, 59, in April after concluding that self-defense could have been a factor in the shooting death.
Jurors found that Hogue was guilty of murder, a first-degree felony. But they also determined prosecutors did not sufficiently prove that he was not acting in self-defense when he shot a friend visiting his home, meaning the murder charge was treated at sentencing as a lower manslaughter charge. The jury also found Hogue guilty of discharge of a firearm, a second-degree felony.
Hogue received a sentence of three to 15 years for the second-degree felony charge, and a sentence of between one and 15 years for the murder charge. The sentences were ordered to be served at the same time.
Hogue called 911 on March 23, 2021, and reported he had shot his friend in the motorhome parked outside his house in West Valley City, according to charging documents. Police arrived to find Troy Gerry Frampton, 60, dead inside the vehicle with gunshot wounds to his face and chest.
"This has been a horrible accident that I did not create, but I did — I did survive," Hogue said during his sentencing hearing Tuesday. "I don't feel it was my fault at all."
He said he was afraid for his life and for his girlfriend's life, and that he held no animosity toward Frampton, who he said was his friend. Hogue said he is sorry for the family's loss and for Frampton's death, even though he had said he wasn't sorry on a phone call which was played during the trial.
Hogue said he intends to appeal his case.
"Why I was convicted is just beyond me," he said. "I don't feel it was my fault at all."
Frampton's ex-wife, Gayle Frampton, spoke at the sentencing and talked about the impact the event has had on her family, including her sons and grandson. She was married to Frampton for over 35 years, and described how kids were drawn to him and how he was kindhearted and a friend to many.
"(Hogue has) taken so much joy from our family, I can't even describe it," she said.
She said Hogue's actions after the killing show her that he was not Troy Frampton's friend. She said he should have taken time to see if her ex-husband was OK and that his actions — along with firing a second shot — show that it was murder and not an accident. She asked for the maximum available sentence.
Third District Judge Richard McKelvie emphasized that neither man in the situation is blameless, noting that Frampton brought the firearm that caused his death and that both men were handling a firearm after they had been drinking.
"The misuse and abuse of firearms, especially as it relates to firearms and alcohol or other controlled substances is endemic in our society. And it's one of the things that contributes to the number of deaths and that incredibly high homicide rate that we have in this country," McKelvie said.
However, he said Hogue's actions were "inexcusable," noting that the jury did find him guilty of murder and rejected options to find him guilty of lesser offenses. He said Hogue's statements are the only direct evidence in the case, and even those statements, although inconsistent, acknowledged that there were opportunities to avoid the tragic situation.
The judge also said the second shot was unnecessary and unwarranted.
"I'm very concerned about the defendant's lack of remorse and his insistence in his claim of self-defense," he said.
Hogue's attorney, Austin Mort, asked the judge for probation instead of a prison sentence, but McKelvie said it is rare for felony actions resulting in a death to not lead to a prison sentence, and this would not be one of those cases.
However, he also declined to give the sentence that the prosecutors requested, which was consecutive sentences leading to between four and 30 years in prison. McKelvie said consecutive sentences could end up being equivalent to a life prison sentence in this case because of Hogue's age, and he said he wanted the sentence to reflect the jury's determination that he could have been acting in self-defense.
"I understand that this is a very, very difficult, horrible tragedy for everybody who is involved and that what I have done here does nothing really to advance the interests of either of these parties in any significant way," the judge said.
