Southern Utah man tied to fatal shooting faces charges, but not for victim's death

Criminal charges have been filed against an 18-year-old man who allegedly said he shot another man after the man tried to sexually assault him. But the charges aren't for the death.

Criminal charges have been filed against an 18-year-old man who allegedly said he shot another man after the man tried to sexually assault him. But the charges aren't for the death. (Chinnapong, Shutterstock)


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KANARRAVILLE, Iron County — An 18-year-old man arrested in the shooting death of another man in Kanarraville now faces criminal charges, but none of them are for the 33-year-old man's death.

Kyle Black Jessop was charged Friday in 5th District Court with two counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person and drug possession with intent to distribute, third-degree felonies; plus possession of drug paraphernalia and unlawful possession of alcohol by a minor, class B misdemeanors.

Iron County sheriff's deputies responded Wednesday to a shooting at a residence in Kanarraville. Jessop called 911 just before 8 p.m. and said that "he had just shot another man who had attempted to sexually assault him," according to the sheriff's office.

"Jessop admitted that he used the rifle while under the influence of a controlled substance to shoot the male. Upon execution of a search warrant, the rifle and one additional rifle were located," a police booking affidavit states.

At the time of Jessop's arrest, the sheriff's office noted that the investigation was still "active."

"The case is ongoing, and we are awaiting the autopsy results," the sheriff's office said Thursday.

The name of the deceased man has not yet been released.

In requesting that Jessop be held in the Iron County Jail without the possibility of posting bail, deputies noted in the affidavit that "Jessop has family ties to a religious organization that is known to harbor and aid in the escape from the court's jurisdiction."

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Pat Reavy interned with KSL NewsRadio in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL NewsRadio, Deseret News or KSL.com since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.
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