- A Midvale man, Dakota Lane Pierce, is charged with shooting at two strangers.
- Pierce allegedly fired five shots, injuring one man, just after "politely" asking the two men about their night.
- He faces seven felony charges and one misdemeanor charge.
MIDVALE — A Midvale man was charged Tuesday with shooting at two strangers, hitting and injuring one man, right after politely asking the victims how their night was going.
Dakota Lane Pierce, 23, is charged in 3rd District Court with two counts of shooting a gun and causing serious injury, a first-degree felony; two counts of child endangerment and three counts of illegal discharge of a firearm, third-degree felonies; plus reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor.
"(Pierce's) actions, which involved approaching two strangers, engaging them politely, and then, unprovoked, opening fire multiple times, demonstrate a disregard for public safety," prosecutors note in the charging documents.
The investigation began Thursday night when officers from several agencies were helping Unified police look for a fleeing man in an unrelated case, said Unified Police Sgt. Aymee Race.
A Taylorsville police officer was driving back to his jurisdiction when he was flagged down by a man who said he had been shot near 7140 S. State.
The victim and a friend told investigators that they were walking their bicycles past Pierce, who was loading a young girl into a vehicle. Pierce then turned to the two bicyclists who had just walked by and shouted, "You guys having a good night?" Before they could respond, "Pierce pulled out a black handgun and fired five shots in their direction," the charges allege.
Another man who was in the car later told police that "despite (his) warnings — reminding Pierce that his daughter was with him — Pierce ignored him and opened fire on two males on bicycles. (The witness) stated Pierce continued shooting while getting into the car and fired again from the vehicle," according to the charging documents.
One victim was shot twice in the abdomen, according to police, and was taken to a local hospital in fair condition.
"He stated he did not know the shooter but believed the shots were directed at someone near him, as there were a few people around at the time," he later told detectives.
Police reviewed surveillance video from nearby businesses which showed Pierce walking in the area where the victims were seen running away.
After Pierce got out of the car he was seen leaving in, he was spotted walking by a Unified police officer who noticed that Pierce matched the gunman's description, according to the charges.
Pierce was arrested, and officers served a search warrant at his home and recovered a handgun and boxes of ammunition.
After being taken into custody, Pierce was shown an image from the surveillance video.
"He stated the male in the photo 'looks a lot like me' and confirmed the child pictured was his oldest daughter. When told a witness saw him shoot while accompanied by his daughter, Pierce responded, 'Yeah.' When asked if he had fired a gun that night, he replied, 'Maybe, under certain circumstances,' later suggesting it could have been in self-defense. He admitted to consuming an unknown amount of vodka that night," charging documents state.
