Man charged in connection with July West Jordan shooting
by Pat Reavy ksl · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- Michael Johnathon Smith, 23, charged with multiple felonies for July West Jordan assault.
- Smith allegedly participated in shooting a man and assaulting a woman during the incident.
- He was arrested by U.S. Marshals; motive remains unclear.
WEST JORDAN — A 23-year-old man who police believe shot a man and assaulted a woman in West Jordan in July has been charged.
Michael Johnathon Smith, of West Valley, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with shooting a gun and causing serious injury and aggravated burglary, first-degree felonies; aggravated assault resulting in serious injury, a second-degree felony; two counts of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony; and three counts of assault, a class B misdemeanor.
On July 27, police responded to a shooting near 5050 West and 8500 South. On that day, a man and woman, both 28, told investigators that they heard a loud knock at their door, according to charging documents. The man answered the door and was grabbed by Smith and another man who threw the victim outside and "repeatedly punched (him) with closed fists and kicked him."
Smith then entered the trailer home and put the woman in a chokehold "and struck her head against the dresser" while holding a gun, the charges state.
"Smith stood in front of (the woman) and pointed the firearm at her. (She) reported that she heard multiple gunshots, one of which she heard as Smith was leaving," according to the charges.
The woman then found the victim outside had been shot in the arm and abdomen, the charges state.
Charging documents do not state a possible motive for the shooting, but the woman told police "she later recognized" one of the assailants as Smith. It was not immediately known if police had identified the second man.
According to court records, Smith is also charged with two counts of aggravated assault accusing him of threatening another couple with a hammer on June 27, a case that prosecutors say involves domestic violence. A preliminary hearing is scheduled in that case for next week.
On July 16, Smith allegedly violated a pretrial protective order in the case and was later charged again.
After the shooting, Smith was arrested by the U.S. Marshals' Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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Pat Reavy
Pat Reavy interned with KSL in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL or Deseret News since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops-and-courts beat.
A man who police say participated in a violent home invasion in West Jordan in July has been charged.