Post by WaTcHeR on Feb 7, 2006 12:31:21 GMT -5
Officer Arthur Henderson
02/06/2006 - PROVO — The former police officer accused of shooting his estranged wife's boyfriend and firing at Lehi police officers faces 10 felony charges, including five first-degree felony counts of attempted aggravated murder.
Arthur Henderson, 38, was charged Monday in 4th District Court with a combination of first- and third-degree felonies for the Jan. 27 high-speed car chase and shootout with officers in a Lehi neighborhood.
The aggravating clause in the attempted murder charges was chosen not because of the guns involved but because of the number of potential victims, said Utah County Attorney Kay Bryson.
In the charging documents, Bryson also included lesser counts to some of the charges to give a jury the option of convicting on a lesser charge if evidence warrants.
The lesser options include one count of attempted murder, a first-degree felony, and two counts of aggravated assault, third-degree felonies.
Henderson also faces one count of aggravated assault, one count of criminal mischief and three counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm, all third-degree felonies.
Conviction for a first-degree felony carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, while a third-degree felony carries up to five years in prison.
With more interviews to conduct and more reports to read, it is possible there could be more charges, Bryson said.
"We're waiting on a lot of things — toxicology reports, functionality testing of the weapons involved . . . reports from the officers," Bryson said. "We are in the middle of the (investigation)."
Henderson, who worked as a Lehi police officer from July 1, 2002, until July 23, 2004, had been working construction off and on with his brother until January 2006. He had previously injured his left knee during SWAT exercises and told the judge it was one of the reasons he was having a hard time finding permanent work.
Judge Gary Stott appointed a public defender for Henderson — the first legal representation he has had since his arrest on Jan. 27.
The Utah County Public Defender's Office did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment on the case.
Henderson is being held without bail in the Salt Lake County Metro Jail. He is being held there for security reasons; he formerly worked as a correctional deputy at the Utah County Jail.
Lehi police say Henderson chased his estranged wife, Natalie Barnes Henderson, 37, and her boyfriend, Craig Trimble, 35, from her house to a Lehi intersection where he rammed her car with his truck.
Police say he then exited his vehicle and shot Trimble, who was driving, in the leg, stomach and ankle.
Police say Henderson then turned his attention to arriving Lehi police officers and fired several rounds, sending one shot through a passing minivan and one through the windshield of a patrol car.
Police subdued and arrested Henderson after shooting him in the knee and the foot.
Trimble remains hospitalized at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center.