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A 25-year-old man was charged Wednesday with murder for allegedly shooting and killing his mother and brother on a remote eastern Utah ranch in Carbon County two weeks ago.
Seth Gordon Peterson, of Ferron, in adjacent Emery County, is accused of killing his mother, Susan Peterson, 45, and his brother James Peterson, 23, whose bodies were found by police in a field on Nov. 2.
Peterson appeared by video in 7th District Court from the Carbon County jail Wednesday on two counts of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony; one count of attempted aggravated murder, a first degree felony; one count of aggravated robbery, a first degree felony; and one count of failure to stop at the command of a police officer, a third-degree felony.
The court appointed a public defender for Peterson, and set a scheduling conference for Dec. 5, when Peterson will decide whether or not to waive his preliminary hearing.
On Nov. 2, sheriff's deputies responded to a 911 call reporting shots fired and spotted Peterson driving away from a farm about 7 miles west of Price, just off State Road 122, in what later proved to be a stolen car, according to Carbon County Sheriff Jeff Wood.
Peterson briefly led police on a high-speed chase and foot pursuit before being arrested.
While Peterson was not armed at the time of his arrest, Wood said, deputies recovered several high-powered hunting rifles at the scene where the bodies of Susan Peterson and James Peterson were found. Nearby, an all-terrain vehicle was parked roughly midway between the former mining community of Hiawatha and SR-122's junction with SR-10.
Wood said a report of otherwise undisclosed "non-violent, suspicious" circumstances had prompted an earlier visit the same day, about 3 p.m., but deputies determined there was no threat and left. Documents filed in court Wednesday do not provide any new details about the incident.
Peterson is being held without bail at the Carbon County jail.
Twitter: @mnoblenews