Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
NEPHI — If he had been sitting in a slightly different position while driving, just an inch different, Chad Shepherd said he may have been shot in the heart.
Instead, he was shot in the shoulder blade.
Because he leaned forward to see what the man in the other car was doing, he got to meet his new granddaughter months later.
Shepherd said Tuesday he often wonders if Adam Lloyd Gheen — the man who shot at him and four others along I-15 — thinks about the lives he affected that day. Every day, Shepherd drives by the same spot where he was shot and he said he is constantly reminded of his fear that night.
"This was just uncalled for, and I see it every day and it's awful," he said during Gheen's sentencing hearing.
Gheen, 21, of Goshen, was sentenced Tuesday to five terms of one to 15 years in prison for five counts of attempted murder, a second-degree felony. The judge ordered the sentences to be served consecutively.
As part of a plea deal, the charges were reduced from first-degree felonies, and five counts of criminal mischief threatening human life, a class A misdemeanor, were dismissed. The plea deal also recommended that Gheen not be given any credit for time already served.
Gheen did not make any comments at his sentencing, but his attorney, Stephen Frazier, read a statement provided to Adult Probation and Parole in which Gheen said he had been drinking alcohol and "was not in my right mind."
"I feel terrible that I committed this terrible act. This is not the kind of person I am and I would like to apologize to all of those involved," he said in the statement.
On Nov. 30, 2021, people reported shots fired along I-15 at five different locations between Nephi and Scipio during a 30-minute period. Witnesses said a light-colored SUV approached them from behind and someone inside began shooting.
It took months before the criminal charges were filed. In a preliminary hearing, investigators testified about using geofencing to identify possible suspects, which included Gheen.
Austen Westenskow was also shot at while driving on I-15 that day. He said the incident stirred up a lot of emotions and as a young man, he often thinks about his life and how it could have suddenly been over.
"I was just coming home from work at night, you know, and things that transpired could have ended my life," he said.
Janitsa Soto-Chaparro, a third victim, said a slight change in how a bullet hit her could have taken her away from her children. She said she has also been serving a sentence since that night, and is not able to find peace.
"My bogeyman has a face, and it has a name," she said.
She expressed gratitude that a Heavenly Father had other plans for her life, and for the lives of the other four victims that night.
Judge Anthony Howell thanked the victims for sharing statements, and for their patience through a case that took some time to resolve.
"I hope that after today you will find a sense of peace, a sense of resolution. I've certainly not experienced the trauma that each of you has, but it rings familiar to me, at least the idea of how quickly we can lose those things that are important to us for no fault of our own — how precious life is," he said.
He told Gheen he made the right decision to take responsibility, and said it will take more good decisions before he is forgiven for his choices.
Because of the consecutive sentences, Gheen will likely spend at least five years in prison, and could spend up to 75 years.
Correction: A previous version misstated Adam Lloyd Gheen's first name as Aman.
