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WEST VALLEY CITY — A man shot by West Valley police Sunday after police say he shot another person has been moved from a hospital to the Salt Lake County Jail.
Mitchell Vann Halsey, 39, was booked on Wednesday, and on Thursday formally charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony; shooting a gun resulting in serious injury, a second-degree felony; and being a restricted person in possession of a gun, a third-degree felony.
About 1 p.m. Sunday, West Valley police say Halsey shot at a man in the parking lot of Carl's Jr., 3469 S. Redwood Road. The confrontation began when the victim and a woman who were in the parking lot, who were previously acquainted with Halsey, told police that he approached them and "mentioned that he wanted to sell a speaker to get money for heroin," according to a police booking affidavit.
When Halsey found out that the man had money, "he pulled out a gun, pointed it at (the man's) head and pulled the trigger. The bullet grazed (the man's) head, causing a wound to (his) scalp," the affidavit states.
The 41-year-old victim said he dropped his money on the ground, pleaded with Halsey not to shoot him again and ran inside the fast food restaurant. Halsey took the man's money and rode his bicycle to the Indoor Swap Meet a few blocks away, near 1500 West and 3500 South, the affidavit says.
Another man said he was walking out of a nearby restaurant when he saw Halsey and the victim arguing and saw that Halsey had a gun, according to charging documents. That witness "later discovered that a bullet had struck the tailgate of his vehicle," the charges state.
When police found Halsey near the swap meet, there was some kind of altercation and he was shot by an officer. Halsey was taken to a local hospital in serious condition. The police shooting remained under investigation Wednesday by the Salt Lake City Police Department.
"Mitchell is homeless and has a heroin addiction," the police affidavit states. "Mitchell has a history of resisting arrest and assaulting police. He has 17 arrests for assaulting a police officer with three convictions and he has 11 arrests for interference/resisting arrest with three convictions."
Prosecutors further noted in Thursday's charging documents that "Halsey has a significant criminal history. Halsey has 63 prior Utah arrests and multiple felony convictions. Halsey has been convicted of assaulting police officers four times." The state has requested that he be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without bail pending trial.
