Man sentenced to jail, probation after police say he brandished stolen gun at another driver

SALT LAKE CITY — A West Jordan man arrested after a road rage incident is now on probation after admitting he was in possession of a firearm which he should have known was stolen.

Travis Lorenz, 21, was sentenced to zero to five years in prison for theft of a gun, but 3rd District Judge Derek Williams suspended that sentence instead ordering him to spend three years on probation along with 101 days in jail, which he had already spent. The judged ordered his release from jail at the sentencing on Sept. 17.

The man pleaded guilty to the charge, reduced to a third-degree felony from a second-degree felony, on July 21 as part of a plea deal that also dismissed a charge for aggravated assault, a third-degree felony.

According to charging documents, a driver reported to police that another driver had thrown something at his vehicle, pulled beside it and then pointed a small black handgun at him telling him to "use your turn signal next time."

The driver got the man's license plate number, which pointed officers toward Lorenz, the vehicle's owner. When questioned, Lorenz claimed he had thrown a marker at the vehicle, and he admitted to brandishing the firearm but said he did not point it at the other driver.

According to charges, the gun was reported stolen in Utah County and Lorenz admitted he bought it from a drug dealer and knew it could connect him to crimes, charges said.

Lorenz was not initially in custody when the charges were filed, but his bail was revoked in June after he was charged in 4th District Court with aggravated assault.

He pleaded guilty on Sept. 24 in that case to a reduced charge of assault with substantial bodily injury, a class A misdemeanor. He was ordered to spend two years on probation in addition to the same 101 days in jail by 4th District Judge Christine Johnson, who suspended the sentence of one year in jail.

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