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SALT LAKE CITY – A Utah man already charged in the state system for allegedly grabbing a Sandy officer's gun and firing a round into the ground — just missing a retired officer ran in to help — is now facing a federal weapon charge tied to the incident.
A grand jury indicted Brandon Keith Thompson Wednesday for possessing a gun despite being a felon.
Thompson is charged separately in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court with disarming a police officer, a first-degree felony, and robbery, a second-degree felony. He has not yet entered pleas in either case.
Thompson is accused of running away when police arrived at a Sandy AT&T store, 11316 S. State, to question him after he removed a security device from an Apple Watch. He tripped before an officer caught up with him and the two struggled, charges say.
Thompson then grabbed the gun from the officer's holster and fired through the holster into the ground, narrowly missing a retired police officer who happened to be nearby and ran to intervene, federal prosecutors contend. The retired officer pried Thompson's hands from the weapon as he continued to "violently struggle" and keep his hand on the gun, court documents say.
Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah filed a motion seeking to have Thompson remain in jail ahead of trial, noting he picked up aggravated assault and other charges after a term of supervised release ended last year. He was stunned with a Taser twice before he stopped fighting officers and reaching for the firearm, they say.
The attorneys consider him a flight risk and an "unmanageable danger to the community," according to the court filing.
Thompson is due in federal court for arraignment on Aug. 18.
