Draper man who disarmed, shot at police is sent to prison

WEST JORDAN — A Draper man who shot at a police officer, before being shot himself, has been sentenced to prison for crimes committed in the aftermath of a 2020 traffic accident.

Eric Wyatt Pectol, 53, was initially charged with disarming a police officer, a first-degree felony; two counts of assault against a police officer and possession of a gun by a restricted person, second-degree felonies; and illegal shooting of a gun, a third-degree felony. He pleaded guilty in May to disarming a police officer and the other four counts were dismissed.

Pectol was sentenced to a term of five years to life in prison by 3rd District Judge James Gardner on June 28.

Pectol collided with a truck while riding a motorcycle on Sept. 17, 2020, near the intersection of 2300 East and 4500 South. Unified police officer Jason Hudgens was putting gas in his patrol car when he saw the crash happen.

As he approached the scene to help, Pectol got up and started running toward a field. "Officer Hudgens shouted at Pectol to stop. Pectol reached down his pants and told officer Hudgens that he had a gun," according to charging documents.

When it was clear Pectol did not, in fact, have a gun, Hudgens holstered his own pistol and deployed a Taser on Pectol, who began running back at him, the charges state. The Taser had no effect and the two men fought before Hudgens lost his footing and fell to the ground, dropping his service weapon.

Officer John Saulnier arrived just as Pectol picked up the dropped gun, the charging documents say, and found himself "staring down the barrel of the gun."

Saulnier said he "saw the muzzle flash and heard the snap of the bullet coming by him," before returning fire, hitting Pectol four times — in the neck, below his ribs, and twice in the hip.

Initially, Pectol denied firing the shot, according to Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, who said Saulnier was legally justified in shooting Pectol. Investigators found the bullet had traveled through the glass door of a nearby home, landing in a fireplace.

In an interview with investigators, Pectol said, "I never wanted to hurt him, I wanted him to kill me," explaining that he wanted to die because he'd rolled his Jeep days earlier, leaving his girlfriend in a coma and paralyzed, according to Gill's report.

During the sentencing, Gardner took into account both Pectol's past criminal history and a slew of character reference letters submitted by family, friends and therapists.

According to court records, Pectol was convicted of attempted murder and discharging a firearm from a vehicle in 2004 and sentenced to one to 15 years in prison. He was paroled and then convicted of felony drug charges in 2014. He was paroled again and then pleaded guilty in 2017 to new felony drug and theft charges stemming from a 2016 case.

But the man's family asked for leniency in the sentencing. As a mentor to other inmates as part of the Addicts to Athletes Program, Pectol's family said he "has an ability to inspire progress in others."

Pectol's therapists said the man has "overcome many of the aspects of his addiction," living in a substance abuse treatment facility for almost two years, and has "displayed drastic changes" over his time in treatment. They went as far as to say he has "reached maximum benefit" of the therapy program and "is equipped with the skills necessary to reenter the community."

Family and friends expressed concern over Pectol's long-term health, saying he's "in constant pain and discomfort," with some bullets remaining in his body.

Pectol is scheduled to appear in court for a restitution hearing in October.

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