This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
West Jordan police on Thursday released the identity of a bar shooting suspect who was himself shot by an off-duty officer, but they remained mum on other details of the incident.
WJPD Sgt. Joe Monson said the man shot was Andrew Jorge Davison Thomas, 24. He remained in critical condition on Thursday.
Monson said that since the investigation — which included a search for a possible second suspect — was ongoing, he could not provide other details from the early Wednesday morning incident, including where on his body Thomas was wounded, how many shots were fired, or whether Thomas had threatened or fired at the WJPD officer.
The officer, whose name was not released, had just completed his shift and was on his way home about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday when he heard an "attempt to locate" call on his radio involving a suspect vehicle that had sped away from the parking lot of the Barbary Coast Saloon, at 4242 S. State Street in Murray, after another man was shot in the leg.
That shooting reportedly stemmed from an altercation between two drivers and was otherwise unconnected to the bar.
The WJPD officer attempted to follow the silver Hyundai while calling for backup. About 1 a.m., the driver pulled into a random driveway near 2400 West Dutch Draw (4205 South), in Taylorsville, and the officer confronted the man as he got out of the vehicle.
Thomas, still reportedly armed with a handgun, allegedly ran down a sidewalk and into a backyard, where there was an unspecified altercation during which the officer shot him.
The Salt Lake County shooting protocol team, led by Unified Police detectives, is reviewing the shooting. The officer is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome.
Utah court records show that Thomas has a history of convictions dating back to 2010, including cases in which he pleaded guilty to second-degree felony drug possession and third-degree felony aggravated assault.
He also has misdemeanor convictions for assault, failure to stop at the command of police and carrying a concealed weapon.
Thomas was charged last month with third-degree forgery for allegedly trying to pass a bad check at a credit union, court records show.
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