Abraham Hernandez-Duron, 40, has formally been charged by the Summit County Attorney’s Office with six felonies in connection with an incident that began at the Park City Gun Club on Sunday.
Hernandez-Duron faces one count each of aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony; felony discharge of a firearm with injury, a second-degree felony; theft of a firearm, a second-degree felony; prohibited possession of a dangerous weapon, a second-degree felony; property damage more than $5,000, a second-degree felony; and failure to stop at an officer’s signal, a third-degree felony.
Prosecutors filed the charges on Thursday after Hernandez-Duron was medically cleared. He had been taken to an area hospital with injuries after the situation with local law enforcement at Trailside Park, according to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
Summit County Dispatch received an alarm from the Park City Gun Club around 5:30 a.m. indicating someone was inside the building. A deputy arrived about a block away and heard five gunshots. He stopped to observe the business while a group of Park City Police Department officers took up position on the south side of the business on Forestdale Drive, according to the Third District Court filing.
Deputies surveying the area heard an additional five shots fired, and one of the deputies was “nicked on his thumb by an apparent bullet.”
A man, later identified as Hernandez-Duron, left the business in a white van. A deputy pursued the vehicle using his emergency lights and siren, but Hernandez-Duron allegedly ignored the signal to stop and continued northbound on Old Highway 40.
Another deputy in the area had been waiting near the roundabout at Silver Summit Parkway and took over the pursuit of the suspect vehicle. Hernandez-Duron allegedly accelerated to 60 mph, ran a stop sign and entered the parking lot of Trailside Park. The van then sped through the parking lot, drove over a curb and “catapulted into the air landing on a basketball court where it became high-centered”.
Law enforcement surrounded the vehicle and assumed positions of “overwatch and community protection” until several SWAT team members could assemble. The Sheriff’s Office also urged residents to shelter in place during the situation.
Hernandez-Duron remained in his vehicle for more than an hour. Eventually, he opened the door and tossed out the rifle. He then emerged from the van and complied with deputies’ orders until he was taken into custody.
A crime scene investigator searched the vehicle and identified five firearms that had been taken from the Park City Gun Club, including the rifle. There was also a pipe with several pieces of burned tin foil that investigators believe was used to ingest methamphetamine, according to court documents.
Investigators also found 16 9mm cartridge casings and seven 5.56mm rifle cartridges on the floor of the Park City Gun Club. Security video allegedly shows Hernandez-Duron filing a rifle and a handgun in the area. Other surveillance shows the suspect striking the glass entrance with a hammer to gain access to the building.
There were also numerous bullet holes in the walls and windows, including 13 bullet holes in two windows in the direction where the deputies had positioned themselves. There were three other bullet holes in the windows to the east. The court documents noted there are businesses and residences in both directions.
Park City Gun Club owner David Raffone told the Sheriff’s Office the business was not open to the public on the morning of the incident and no employees were inside. Raffone does not know Hernandez-Duron.
Raffone estimated the damage to the business will likely exceed $40,000 from bullet holes, broken ballistic windows and damaged display cases.
Hernandez-Duron allegedly admitted to deputies that he smoked methamphetamine and drove from the Salt Lake Valley to Park City, and he said he located the Park City Gun Club from an internet search.
Hernandez-Duron does not have legal status to be in the United States, according to court records. His last known address was Midvale.
Third District Court Judge Richard Mrazik agreed to hold Hernandez-Duron without bail following his arrest. He will be held in the Summit County Jail after being released from the hospital. Hernandez-Duron had not retained an attorney as of Thursday afternoon.
The investigation is ongoing, and prosecutors may file additional charges as new information is discovered.
A court date had not yet been scheduled.