facebook-pixel

After waiting two hours, and allegedly altering evidence, Utah man called police to say he’d killed a man in self-defense, police documents say

(Courtesy Box Elder County Sheriff's Office) Brandon Keith Thompson

About two hours after Brandon Keith Thompson allegedly shot and killed another man in Tremonton early Monday morning, he called 911.

He told dispatchers around 3:45 a.m. Monday that he had just shot 33-year-old Michael Hogenson in self-defense, according to a probable cause statement filed with the 1st District Court in connection with Thompson’s arrest.

Thompson, 30, alleged that Hogenson had threatened him and his family, so Thompson fired “warning shots at him.” Then, Hogenson allegedly charged at him, Thompson told police, and he shot the man.

Thompson’s 911 call came about two hours after the shooting occurred, police said, and when officers arrived at the scene — near 3600 West and 1000 North — they found that Thompson took “significant steps to hide, destroy and alter evidence in relation to the murder,” the statement says.

Thompson is being held at the Box Elder County jail on suspicion of aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, possessing a firearm as a restricted person and discharging a firearm within 600 feet of homes. His bail is set at in $40,680, cash-only.

In 2008, Thompson was convicted of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, and he is classified as a “habitual violent offender,” according to the statement.

Police believe that he is a “substantial danger” to the community and that he “does not have much to lose by fleeing” the area if released.

He “is self-employed and does not have a job tying him to the community,” police wrote, adding that his relationship with his girlfriend — which may have been altered “due to these recent events” — is “the only thing” keeping him around.

Thompson has committed crimes in multiple states, according to the statement, and has connections in other locations.

Formal charges had not been filed against Thompson in the homicide case as of Tuesday.

Court documents show that Thompson’s home address was listed as Hyrum last year. Hogenson’s most recent address in the court system was listed as Ogden, also as of last year.

Monday’s homicide is the first reported homicide in Tremonton in more than 50 years, according to the Tremonton Leader.