ST. GEORGE, Utah (
KSL.com
) — Four dozen felonies were filed Monday against a St. George man who police say fired more than 150 rounds at officers during a shootout before his house became engulfed in flames.
Benjamin Lewis Hansen, 41, is charged in 5th District Court with nine counts of attempted murder, a first-degree felony; attempted aggravated arson, eight counts of assault on an officer and two counts of property damage, second-degree felonies; property damage, 22 counts of illegal shooting of a gun and five counts of being a restricted person in possession of a weapon, third-degree felonies, and other charges.
On July 8, St. George police were called about 2:40 p.m. to a home near 3000 East Seegmiller Drive on a report that Hansen had fired a gun from inside.
“Officers were able to call the victim and have them come outside to where they were located. Once the victim was outside, the suspect started to fire at officers. He struck several patrol vehicles and made it so officers had to take cover behind items to prevent from being struck by the suspect’s gunfire,” according to a police booking affidavit.
“It was estimated that the
suspect fired over 150 rounds at officers
during the incident,” the affidavit says.
Charging documents further state that one officer “took several intermittent volleys of gunfire” from Hansen who was “firing from an elevated position in his house. The officer was pinned down behind a power pole, while bullets impacted the pole, the cement base of the pole and a wall.”
Officers returned fire, St. George Police Chief Kyle Whitehead said, and a SWAT team was brought in. The chief said Hansen continued to shoot at officers while the SWAT team contained the area.
Five officers in an “armored vehicle” were able to remove one officer from his position “to keep him from being shot.”
“While officers in the armored vehicle were moving through the active scene, their vehicle was struck by bullets being fired from (Hansen), who was firing from several positions on the upper floor of the house,” the charges allege.
Police then used the armored vehicle to rip the garage door off, prompting Hansen to come to the garage.
“He fired through the garage door and at the windshield of the vehicle when the door came down, impacting the windshield and cracking it,” according to the charging documents.
A total of two police vehicles were struck, and “at least one home and several block walls in the neighborhood were hit.”
Hansen finally came out of his house “only after the residence was engulfed in flames and he was suffering from smoke inhalation,” police said.
Even after he came out, officers had to use a Taser to take Hansen into custody. Once he was in custody, “he admitted to trying to start a fire and/or explosion in the house with fireworks, shooting propane tanks and attempting to cut a gas line,” according to the charges.
Police say Hansen “also admitted to firing several different firearms and shooting a bow in the residence during the incident. Investigators subsequently recovered five firearms and a bow from the house,” the court documents state.
In a letter submitted to the court in June, Hansen had completed seven psychiatric visits and was “following his treatment plan and taking his meds as prescribed,” according to his psychiatrist.
In addition to the 48 felonies, Hansen was also charged Monday with being a restricted person in possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment, class A misdemeanors; and carrying a gun while under the influence of alcohol, a class B misdemeanor.
