Charges dismissed against man accused of shooting someone during argument

WEST VALLEY CITY — Some criminal charges were dismissed against a man, accused of shooting another man, in exchange for pleading guilty to drug charges.

Jason Everette Handy, 38, was charged in August in 3rd District Court with firing a gun and causing injury, a second-degree felony; being a restricted person in possession of a firearm, a third-degree felony; and violating a protective order, a class A misdemeanor.

A 41-year-old man went to a residence in the area of 2000 West and 3600 South on Aug. 1, in search of his ex-girlfriend. The man found the ex's roommate in the garage and got into an argument with her, charging documents state.

The man shoved the woman into the garage door and then started arguing with Handy, who also lives at the residence, according to the charges.

While the woman was calling 911, "the next thing she heard was a 'pop' and saw (the victim) grab his stomach, screaming he was shot," the charges say. The man was taken to a local hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound to his stomach.

On Aug. 12, a West Valley SWAT team returned to the home with a search warrant. Investigators also recovered audio from a neighbor's surveillance camera. In the recording, the victim is told to leave the house several times, but does not appear to threaten the occupants.

"The audio recording shows that multiple witnesses gave untruthful accounts of the shooting, including threats they claimed the victim made," the charges state.

Because Handy has a protective order against him in another case, he is not allowed to have a gun.

On Oct. 20, those charges were dismissed without prejudice as part of a plea deal, meaning they could be filed again, and a separate drug possession case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed again.

In exchange for the dismissals, Handy pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, a second-degree felony; possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony; and Class A misdemeanor drug possession. Those charges were from two separate cases filed in 3rd District Court.

For the drug possession charge, Handy was sentenced to 70 days in jail, but given credit for 70 days previously served, and ordered to serve three years on probation.

For the distribution and firearm possession charge, Handy was sentenced to one to 15 years in prison and zero to five years in prison. Both terms were suspended, however, and he was placed on probation for three years, during which he could apply for a charge reduction after completing probation and any treatment directed by the probation agency.

On Oct. 22, the Adult Probation and Parole board requested an amendment to his sentencing, saying that "the length of supervision originally ordered for this case is inconsistent with recent changes to statute and guidelines." The board requested that the probation length be changed to two years, and Judge Charles Stormont, who oversaw all of Handy's cases, approved the order.

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