This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Cottonwood area resident has pleaded guilty to a federal criminal charge for firing three shots from a handgun at a Salt Lake City synagogue in 2012.
Macon Michael Openshaw, 21, pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights violation for the night-time attack on the Kol Ami synagogue in 2006.
Openshaw fired three shots from a .22-caliber handgun at the unoccupied facility that broke windows and damaged the building, according to court documents. He also pleaded guilty to possessing a handgun with a destroyed serial number, the same gun used to shoot at the building, and possessing other weapons in violation of federal law because he was the subject of a protective order at the time.
In addition to the handgun that FBI agents found in Openshaw's home, they also found a sawed-off semi-automatic rifle in the trunk of Openshaw's Ford Focus, court documents say.
As part of a plea bargain, Openshaw could be sentenced to five years in prison. He also agreed to restitution.
He is scheduled to be sentenced July 15 before U.S. District Judge Tena Camppell.