A Duchesne man was shot to death and a woman injured during an altercation in a local tavern Friday night.
Larry A. Mortensen, 42, died after he was shot in the left shoulder and the left side of his chest about 10:30 p.m. Friday in the Commercial Club bar, Duchesne County Sheriff Clair Poulson said Saturday. Mortensen was pronounced dead about 20 minutes later at Duchesne County Hospital.Poulson said Sandra Burnett, 37, of Hanna, Duchesne County, was taken to the county hospital. She was later flown to the University of Utah Health Sciences Center, where she was listed in serious but stable condition Saturday.
Poulson said Burnett apparently became involved in an altercation with a former boyfriend at the tavern. The man left the bar, but returned with a .357-caliber Magnum handgun and shot Burnett once in the shoulder. Mortensen "tried to stop the gunman and was shot during a struggle for the handgun. He was then shot a second time," the sheriff said.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs was investigating the incident and was considering filing attempted murder charges in the shooting of Burnett, who is a Sioux Indian, Poulson said.
Elmer C. McCrary, 67, was booked into Duchesne County Jail for investigation of capital homicide and attempted murder, Poulson said. Bail was set at $250,000, pending a Monday arraignment.