9 officers cleared by DA for 2025 standoff ending in fatal shooting

SALT LAKE CITY — Nine police officers who fired their weapons at the conclusion of an hourslong standoff with a documented gang member with a violent criminal history — and who was armed with an assault rifle — were legally justified in using deadly force, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced Friday.

On Sept. 2, 2025, Elhelbawy Adam Idrees, 26, was shot and killed during a standoff at a house at 1889 W. 7265 South. Detectives Casey Bronson, Aaron Curtis, Bo Reier, Chris Martinez, Alex Hofheins, Sgt. Brian White, officer Kaden Strasters and Lt. Tyler Webster, all from the West Jordan Police Department, and Nick Hansen with the State Bureau of Investigation — all members of the joint SWAT team — were cleared in the fatal shooting.

According to Gill's final report, on that day, a person called 911 and claimed there was a man in his house "threatening him 'with a machine gun.'"

Officers arrived and got three women out of the home safely, who confirmed Idrees was inside and "that he had been awake for three days on methamphetamine," the report states. The women also told police that Idrees had just gotten out of prison and that a fourth female was still inside.

Police further learned there was a warrant out for Idrees' arrest in relation to a shooting conviction and "that he was flagged as 'armed' and 'gang affiliation,'" the report states. The warrant further warned law enforcers to use "extreme caution" when interacting with Idrees, "that he had been shot before by police and that he was very dangerous and most likely wouldn't want to go back to prison."

Both the West Jordan SWAT team and the Joint Special Operations Group were called to the scene. Police initially made phone contact with Idrees, who claimed he would come out and surrender; "however, he never did," according to Gill's report.

Police positioned two armored vehicles in front of the residence and for the next several hours attempted to get Idrees to peacefully come out. Two hours after the initial call, the fourth female exited the residence.

About five hours after the initial 911 call, police "began implementing a gas plan" to force Idrees out, the report states. Minutes later, Idrees came out of the front door holding a rifle.

"Mr. Idrees began raising the rifle in the direction of officers, and a total of nine (officers from the Joint Special Operations Group) fired their weapons at him," according to the report.

"As he exited the front door and stepped onto the landing, I perceived that he began raising the rifle from his right hand into what looked like a firing position at hip level, reminiscent of a 'Scarface'-style shooting stance," Hofheins said in a written statement to the DA's office. "I believed he posed an immediate threat of death of serious bodily injury to other officers, to myself and others members of the public (in nearby homes)."

"During the investigation, investigators located a total of 81 spent casings – 53 rifle casings and 28 handgun casings – which investigators determined were fired by the involved officers," the report states.

After the shots were fired, a police K-9 was sent in to move Idrees away from the AR-15-style rifle that was still next to him. He was declared deceased on scene.

Idrees had already amassed a significant criminal history at the time of the standoff. He was arrested in 2018 when he was 19 years old in connection with a shooting at a smoke shop at 3925 S. State in Millcreek. Idrees shot an 18-year-old man in the thigh three times. He was convicted in a plea deal of one count of discharge of a firearm, a second-degree felony, and given a suspended prison term and placed on three years of probation, court records state.

Just four months later, however, he was arrested for a probation violation and then again three months after that, according to court records. In August 2019, his probation was revoked, and Idrees was sent to prison.

In 2022, Idrees pleaded guilty in 3rd District Court to being a restricted person in possession of a gun in exchange for several other charges being dismissed. He was sentenced to an additional term of up to 15 years in the Utah State Prison. In that case, Idrees, who was still wearing an ankle monitor after being released on parole from his prior conviction, was arrested in 2021 for stealing a car that had drugs and guns in it when police found it, according to court documents. That arrest also led to a federal indictment in November 2021. He was released from federal prison on May 23, 2025. At that time, he was on both federal supervised release and parole from the Utah State Prison.

On July 31, 2025, after being released from the hospital where he was treated for a gunshot injury, investigators say Idrees used meth. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole issued an arrest warrant for Idrees on Aug. 29, 2025, for allegedly absconding from parole and stealing a car. He was scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court on the morning of the standoff, but failed to show up, according to court records.

Gill is holding a press conference to go over his team's findings and to show body camera video from the incident.

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