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NEPHI — A judge has ordered a Goshen man to stand trial for five charges of attempted murder accusing him of shooting randomly at five vehicles while passing them on I-15.
On Nov. 30, people reported shots being fired on I-15 at about five different locations in between Nephi and Scipio during a 30-minute period starting at about 3:15 a.m. Witnesses said a light-colored SUV approached them from behind and shot at the vehicles while passing them, according to UHP Sgt. Cameron Roden.
Adam Lloyd Gheen, 19, is charged with five counts of attempted murder, a first-degree felony, and five counts of criminal mischief threatening human life, a class A misdemeanor.
He was initially charged with seven counts of illegal discharge of a firearm, a second-degree felony, and possession of a deadly weapon with intent to assault, a class A misdemeanor. On May 5, those charges were replaced with five counts of attempted murder.
The preliminary hearing for Gheen was held over two separate days, July 26 and Aug. 10, after technical issues with sharing video evidence in a virtual hearing led them to reschedule the second part of the hearing.
Jeffrey Kinghorn with Utah's State Bureau of Investigation testified about the bullet holes found in multiple cars. He said one woman had a hole in her shirt and her chest was grazed, and a man in a separate vehicle was taken to the hospital after a bullet entered and exited his back.
Charges were not filed until months after the event occurred, and it took a while to find a suspect. Kinghorn said they used geofencing and identified four accounts that they wanted to look into, including Gheen.
"It's a lot of numbers. A lot of GPS coordinates, dates (and) times on an Excel spreadsheet," Kinghorn said.
In body camera video from police after they arrested Gheen that was shown in court, Gheen tells his father on a phone call that he sold a 9mm pistol in December; his father was at home where police were looking for a gun that could have been used in the shooting. Gheen also was heard saying a bullet "grazed" one person.
The next hearing for Gheen is scheduled for Sept. 6.
