Susan Hunt pleads guilty after violating agreement in alleged altercation with cops

Susan Hunt — the mother of Darrien Hunt, the 22-year-old black man shot and killed by Saratoga Springs police in September 2014 — pleaded guilty on Friday to two charges filed in connection to a dust-up with two police officers.

The charges were initially part of a diversion agreement meant to resolve the handful of misdemeanor charges filed against her for allegedly walking up to two Saratoga Springs police officers, yelling at them and striking one of them in October 2014.

The September 2015 diversion agreement called for the charges to be dismissed if Hunt followed certain conditions during a six-month period, including completing grief counseling and obeying all laws.

But Lehi City prosecutors, who took the case to avoid a conflict of interest, claim Hunt violated the terms of the agreement when she was arrested in January for allegedly driving drunk in Tooele County and colliding with a Utah Highway Patrol trooper's car.

On Friday, Hunt pleaded guilty to class C misdemeanor failure to disperse, and disorderly conduct, which was reduced from a class C misdemeanor to an infraction, according to court records. Saratoga Springs Justice Court Judge Carolyn Howard ordered the woman to pay a $500 fine, court records indicate. The judge also suspended a 60-day jail sentence in favor of nine months of probation. If Hunt violates the law again, the judge could reimpose that sentence, according to court records.

Two other charges — class C misdemeanor driving on a denied license, and class B misdemeanor interference with an arresting officer — remained dismissed as of Friday.

In the Tooele County case, Hunt is charged in 3rd District Court with class A misdemeanor reckless endangerment, class B misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and class C misdemeanor open container in a vehicle on a highway, along with disorderly conduct and driving on the wrong side of the roadway, both infractions. A scheduling hearing is set for next month.

Hunt, who was hospitalized after the January crash, appeared to be suffering from a medical problem and impairment, according to a UHP report.

She is accused of driving recklessly on State Route 73 the night of Jan. 26. A passerby reported Hunt's vehicle swerving on the road, and she eventually crashed into a UHP trooper's car after he maneuvered it in front of hers to stop her from driving toward some homes on the side of the road.

The trooper noted an odor of alcohol, according to the UHP report, and saw a case of beer and an open can on the passenger floor.

Hunt's son, Darrien Hunt, was shot in a Saratoga Springs parking lot in September 2014 after a 911 caller reported seeing a man carrying a sword. Darrien Hunt's family said he was cosplaying as a favorite manga comic character when police approached him.

The two officers say they fired several shots after Hunt swung the sword at them. The Utah County attorney's office ruled the shooting was justified.

Susan Hunt sued Saratoga Springs and the police officers involved in federal court.

Hunt's attorney reached a $900,000 settlement agreement with the city, but Hunt had argued that her attorney, Robert Sykes, did not have permission to reach the settlement, which also included a gag order on her.

But U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell ruled in February that Hunt had agreed to the settlement and couldn't back out of it.

In April, Campbell closed the case, declining to decide the ongoing legal dispute between Susan Hunt and Sykes, who are at odds over the attorney's claim to part of the settlement.

Campbell said the question of how much, if any, of the $900,000 should go to Sykes was best left up to the state courts. As of Friday, no state court case had been filed.

jmiller@sltrib.com