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SALT LAKE CITY — A man who police say was shot by a Hurricane homeowner in self-defense after he threatened to kill the homeowner and another man is due back in court on Thursday.
Raul Rivera, 43, of Dickinson, North Dakota, was charged April 30 in Washington County's 5th District Court with two counts of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony; threat of violence, a class A misdemeanor; drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, class B misdemeanors.
On April 27, two men arrived at a home in Hurricane to find Rivera in the driveway. Rivera threatened to shoot the two men and began to reach for something in his vehicle, according to charging documents. Fearing they were about to be shot, one of the men reached into his pants and took out his own weapon and shot Rivera, police say.
"Raul fell to the ground next to the driver side door of his vehicle. A black handled screwdriver was found laying on the ground next to where Raul was," the charges state.
As detectives investigated the case, they learned that in the beginning of April, "Raul made threatening voice calls from the jail stating that he would get his 'people' to come up to Hurricane and kill them. It was also found that there were text messages sent to the (gunman's) wife or daughter that are threatening in nature of bodily harm as well," according to a search warrant affidavit.
Police: Man shot in Hurricane altercation was 'primary aggressor' in domestic dispute
Police arrested a man who they say was the “primary aggressor” in a shooting that took place April 27 in Washington County — even though he was the person who was shot.Investigators believe Rivera drove from North Dakota to Hurricane to get his children who had been living at that house since December.
"Investigators further found that Raul had brought his kids (to) live with (the homeowner) and his family and left them with a handwritten note giving custody of his kids," the warrant states.
Rivera was arrested on April 8 for investigation of drug possession, according to the affidavit.
"Investigators found that Raul has a lengthy criminal history which involved convictions for both domestic violence assault and manslaughter," the charges state.
