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A prosecutor is considering whether to file charges against Beaver County Sheriff Cameron Noel after deputies saw him wrap his hands around the neck of a man at a homicide scene earlier this year.

Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings on Tuesday confirmed he is reviewing the case at the request of the Utah attorney general's office. Rawlings declined to disclose other details of the case.

In an email Tuesday, Noel said he was unaware the case had been referred to Rawlings for possible charges and declined further comment. Noel's report from the scene that night describes the suspect as refusing to sit in a patrol car and says the man attempted to head butt him and caused his arm to bleed.

The episode occurred at a motel in Beaver on May 14.

Dorothy Louise Searcy, then 44, had stabbed and killed her husband, 45-year-old Reginald Searcy. The wife later told investigators that Reginald Searcy had been drinking heavily, was angry and had been pulling her hair and slapping her in the face.

Dorothy Searcy's son, then-28-year-old Timothy Scott Wilson, was with his fiancée in an adjoining room when the stabbing happened, according to documents from the Beaver County Sheriff's Office. One deputy's report notes that when deputies spoke to Wilson, he smelled of alcohol and his speech was slurred.

Wilson was agitated and not obeying deputies' commands, the documents say, and one deputy placed him in handcuffs and sat him in a plastic chair outside the motel room.

Noel then told a deputy to transport Wilson to the sheriff's offices for an interview. As the deputy was walking Wilson to a patrol car, Wilson yelled at another deputy to get his mother's medication.

One deputy's report says that Noel yelled at Wilson, "You shut your mouth and get in the car."

That's when Wilson, according to the report, yelled, "F—- you, you fat motherf——-."

Noel "took control of Mr. Wilson" from the deputy, according to the report and attempted to place him in the car. Dorothy Searcy and the fiancée began running toward Noel, Wilson and the deputy.

The deputy restrained the fiancée.

"She kept yelling at the sheriff that 'he can't do that,' " the report says. "I heard a struggle behind me as the sheriff was putting a seat belt on Mr. Wilson.

"After [the fiancée] was handcuffed, I turned around to see the sheriff with two hands around Mr. Wilson's throat."

Another deputy wrote in his report: "I heard a commotion a few seconds later and when exiting the room I observed the sheriff grab Timothy by the shirt with both hands and push down into the front passenger seat of Deputy Kline's patrol car. I then observed the sheriff grab Timothy around the neck with both hands and push him against the seat while saying get in the car."

The deputy went to the passenger side of the car to assist.

"I observed [Wilson] say in a choking voice, 'You ain't strong enough to choke me out boy' while the Sheriff's hands where (sic) around his neck," the deputy wrote. "The sheriff then released his right hand and attempted to put the seatbelt on Timothy while maintaining his left hand on [Wilson's] neck."

The deputy went to the driver's side to try to buckle Wilson into the seat. The deputy wrote that Noel was unable to buckle Wilson's seat belt because Noel was "moving Timothy around so much."

"He then released the seatbelt and grabbed Timothy around the neck with both hands again and began pushing him against the seat a couple times," the deputy on the driver's side wrote. "I observed the sheriff's arms tense up and him squeeze as hard as he could. He then released his right hand again and attempted to put the seatbelt over Timothy."

The report indicates it took a few more seconds, but the deputy was able to buckle the seat belt. At that point, the report says, Noel released his hold on Wilson.

Noel's report corroborates the profanity and that he took control of Wilson and walked him to the police car, but the report says nothing about him placing both hands around Wilson's neck.

Instead, Noel's report says Wilson attempted to pull away as they reached the car.

"I grabbed him again and forced his body into the front seat of the patrol vehicle, telling him not to resist," Noel wrote.

Noel wrote that Wilson again cursed and attempted to exit the car.

"I then used my left arm to push Wilsons (sic) head and body back into the car seat as I attempted to place a seat belt on him, Mr. Wilson resisted and attempted three different times to lunge forward and head butt me.

"One of the times Mr. Wilson either bit or scratched me with his mouth on my left forearm which caused me to bleed. I then used my right arm and under his chin and throat area, pushed him back into the seat."

The assisting deputy was then able to buckle the seat belt, Noel's report says.

At the time, Wilson was on parole for attempted armed robbery in Tennessee. In an email Tuesday, Tennessee Department of Corrections spokeswoman Alison Randgaard said Wilson absconded in January of this year.

Nine days after his step-father was stabbed to death, court records show, he was charged in Tennessee with a parole violation. Wilson agreed on June 30 to be extradited.

Wilson is currently in a prison in Whiteville, Tenn. Prison records show he is scheduled for a parole hearing in March.

No charges alleging that Wilson resisted arrest or assaulted Noel were filed.

An investigation into what happened between Noel and Wilson was assigned to the Millard County Sheriff's Office. Deputy Millard County Attorney Patrick Finlinson on Tuesday said his office decided it couldn't consider charges because it often works with law enforcement in Beaver County.

Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training, which regulates police in Utah, has investigated the episode, too. That agency has denied a Tribune request for records of its investigation, citing state statutes concerned with fair trials and protecting investigations.

Noel became the Beaver County sheriff in 2007. He ran unopposed for his third term in November. He is the son of Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab.

Dorothy Searcy in September pleaded guilty in 5th District Court in Beaver to reduced third-degree felony count manslaughter and was sentenced to up to five years in prison.

Twitter: @natecarlisle