Man accused of killing Santaquin officer was holding woman in his truck against her will, documents allege
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The suspect who was arrested in connection to the May 5 death of Santaquin Sergeant Billy Dean Hooser was booked into the Utah County Jail on May 11, and arrest documents reveal more information about the deadly situation.
Michael Aaron Jayne, who was taken into custody on May 5, is facing nine felony charges, including the following:
Two counts of murder, which are each first-degree felonies
One count of aggravated murder, a first degree felony
One count of aggravated burglary, which is a first-degree felony
One count of aggravated kidnapping, which is a first-degree felony
Three counts of receive or transfer stolen vehicle, which are second-degree felonies
One count of failure to respond to officers signal to stop, which is a third-degree felony
According to an affidavit of probable cause, before Jayne struck and killed Sgt. Hooser, he had a female passenger in the semi-truck, whom he reportedly threatened after an argument.
“Jayne initially drove off, however, returned several times to convince [her] to get back in the semi-truck with him, which she refused to do,” arrest documents said. “During his last attempt, Jayne threatened [her] with chemical bear spray and a knife. [She] got back into the semi-truck due to the threats of violence.”
The argument reportedly happened at a truck stop in Beaver, Utah. When Sgt. Hooser and a Trooper with Utah Highway Patrol conducted the traffic stop on I-15 near Santaquin, the woman got out of the truck and spoke with the officers, pleading them for help, the affidavit said.
At the start of the traffic stop, arrest documents said Jayne was “uncooperative” and was not answering the officers’ questions. At that point, the officers had told Jayne he was not in trouble, and they said they were trying to help, documents said.
When the UHP trooper asked for the electric log from the driver, the affidavit said, “a female had emerged from the sleeper section of the cab and jumped out of the passenger side door.” The woman went around the trailer with her hands up, according to arrest documents.
After speaking with the woman next to his vehicle, Sgt. Hooser indicated to the trooper that they needed to detain Jayne. When the trooper attempted to open the door to the truck, Jayne reportedly locked the doors and drove away, as stated in arrest documents.
The woman who had “escaped the truck,” was with the officers, according to the affidavit. The officers reportedly ran back to their vehicles and had their backs turned as Jayne turned the truck around “and began to head south directly towards the officers and female,” documents said.
“Jayne accelerated the semi-truck very quickly to the point that black smoke was billowing out of the exhaust smokestack as it continued towards Sgt. Hooser, Trooper Griffiths and the female,” according to the affidavit.
Documents said Hooser ran toward the rear side of his vehicle, but was struck and killed by the semi-truck. After that, Jayne reportedly steered directly toward the trooper and the woman, both of whom “were able to narrowly escape being struck,” according to the affidavit.
Jayne then reportedly drove the truck onto the shoulder before jumping a fence, stealing another semi-truck from a gas station and traveling to Mona. In Mona, Jayne found another car that he reportedly stole and drove south to Nephi and Mt. Pleasant, the affidavit said.
“Jayne drove to a remote house where no one was home. He then, after looking through the windows, got back in the F250 truck and drove it into the garage,” documents said.
From that house, Jayne reportedly stole boots and another truck. When the owners reported that truck stolen, UHP located it near Vernal, after which Jayne reportedly fled from officers and traveled faster than 100 miles per hour, according to the affidavit.
Jayne ultimately crashed and was taken into custody.
Jayne has been shown to have a previous criminal history — having faced several charges relating to violence against law enforcement officers in the past. Arrest documents said Jayne pled guilty to two counts of attempted assault in 2010.
Jayne has been ordered to be held without bail.
Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
