72-year-old Utah woman charged with shooting roommate

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SALT LAKE CITY — A 72-year-old Uintah County woman was charged Monday with shooting her roommate in the chest.

Gloria Gail Garretson-Cates is charged in 8th District Court with attempted murder, a first-degree felony.

On Friday, Garretson got into an argument with her roommate. “The argument escalated and (Garretson) picked up a handgun that was on an end table nearby and shot the victim in the chest,” the charges state.

When interviewed by police, Garretson said she has known the victim for 20 years, and on Friday he wanted her to drive him to Lapoint in Uintah County so he could buy drugs, a police affidavit states.

“Gloria told him she would take him in a little while. This upset the victim. Gloria then told me he started to throw a temper tantrum, he kicked her phone and told her was going to break stuff in the house,” according to the affidavit.

Garretson said she was sitting down and recording the tantrum on her tablet. When she saw a hand coming toward her screen, she grabbed her gun next to her chair and fired, the affidavit states.

“Gloria told me she shot the victim; she then told me the victim told her, ‘You shot me.’ Gloria then told the victim two inches higher and ‘you would be laying flat.’ Gloria then told me the victim walked out the back door and around to the side of the house yelling, ‘She shot me, she shot me’ several times,” police wrote in the affidavit.

Garretson was arrested and booked into the Uintah County Jail.