Ogden men sentenced in separate shooting incidents from last November that drew police rebuke

OGDEN — Two Ogden men involved in separate public shooting incidents last November that drew a rebuke from Ogden police have been sentenced to jail time.

Taison Palmer, 20, who initially faced 29 criminal counts in a Nov. 22 shooting incident in a busy commercial section of Ogden, was ultimately found guilty of four counts and ordered to serve 364 days in jail.

Tyrone David Benjamin Smith, 23, who originally faced eight counts in an unrelated shooting incident on an Ogden street on Nov. 22, was found guilty of two counts and also ordered to serve 364 days of jail.

In the Palmer case, Judge Cristina Ortega on June 24 handed down suspended prison sentences of zero to five years on each of three counts — failure to respond to an officer's signal to stop, felony discharge of a firearm and obstruction of justice, all third-degree felonies. She sentenced him to 180 days of jail on a count of driving under the influence, a class B misdemeanor, and granted him credit for 213 days already served,

Separately, she sentenced him to 364 days of jail as part of his probation order.

As part of a plea deal on April 22, 25 other counts against Palmer were dismissed, including 22 counts of felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony. A count of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony, was also dismissed along with two class C misdemeanors, operating a motorcycle without proof of insurance and operating a motorcycle on a suspended or revoked license.

Palmer had been charged with firing an AR-style rifle 23 times at a gathering of car enthusiasts in a parking lot around 12th Street and Wall Avenue. Police subsequently encountered him in a neighborhood nearby on his motorcycle, and he fled, crashing shortly thereafter.

Authorities found 23 spent shell casings in the parking lot, and as part of his plea deal, Palmer admitted to discharging a firearm. He also said he had consumed three beers and used marijuana two to three days before the incident.

In the Smith case, Judge Jason Nelson on Monday sentenced the man to 364 days of jail on each of two counts, possession of a firearm by a restricted person and felony discharge of a firearm, third-degree felonies. The jail time is to run concurrent, and he was granted 218 days credit for time served. He also received suspended prison sentences of zero to five years on each of the counts.

Separately, as part of his probation order, Nelson sentenced Smith to 364 days of jail.

As part of a May 18 plea deal, six counts Smith faced were dismissed, including felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony, and two class A misdemeanors, failure to stop at the command of a law enforcement officer and violating the pharmacy practice act. Counts of providing false or misleading information and possession of drug paraphernalia, class B misdemeanors, and a count of public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, were also dismissed.

In the Smith case, a motorist had reported she was driving around 7th Street and Grant Avenue in Ogden when she encountered the man in the middle of the road, holding what appeared to be a gun. Per terms of the plea deal, Smith acknowledged a police report that noted the firing of multiple gunshots during the incident.

He also acknowledged he had fired a gun in the street during the incident and that he had consumed drugs and alcohol.

The two incidents prompted a sharp response from Ogden Police Chief Jake Sube. "Those who choose to endanger the lives of our residents through the reckless and indiscriminate use of firearms are not welcome here," he said at the time.

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