Police are no longer looking for two people in connection with the shooting of a Utah Highway Patrol trooper this week.
There was only one assailant at the scene of the "crime" early Tuesday - and he was the one wearing the badge.Trooper Michael Leitch, distraught over a romance gone bad, shot himself in the hand in an event he staged apparently to win back his girlfriend's affection.
UHP spokesman Gary Whitney confirmed that Leitch, who has been suspended, admitted to Davis County sheriff's detectives Wednesday evening that the incident on I-215 at the Jordan River bridge near the Davis-Salt Lake county line about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday was a hoax.
Leitch staged it to try to regain the affection of a former girlfriend, who apparently broke off a romance recently and moved out of state, detectives told the Deseret News.
Whitney would only cite "emotional problems at home" as the reason for the hoax.
Investigators began reviewing events surrounding the shooting Wednesday afternoon, and "it didn't add up," one of them said.
They questioned Leitch again Wednesday night, and the story emerged. Leitch admitted buying the .22-caliber rifle, sawing it off and intentionally wounding himself in the hand.
Twelve shots were fired, some into Leitch's patrol car, his portable radio and one through his pant leg.
Leitch suffered a minor gunshot wound and powder burns on one hand, which he first told detectives occurred when he was wrestling for the gun with the man shooting at him. He was treated at LDS Hospital for a gunshot wound and powder burns.
Divers combed the river after the incident but didn't find anything related to the shooting. Detectives said Leitch told them he threw the gun off the bridge, and they planned to return to the scene Thursday to look for it.
Leitch, 26, is a two-year veteran of the UHP, assigned to the Davis County office. Whitney said Leitch has been suspended, and termination proceedings have started.
Leitch also could face criminal prosecution, Whitney said. The case will be presented to the Davis County attorney, who will decide if charges will be filed.
Whitney said he did not have any figures on what the investigation cost, including calling out the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Search and Rescue dive team to comb the river. The team spent more than 50 man-hours on the search Tuesday and out again Thursday.
Several things about the incident, upon being reviewed, didn't add up, one detective said. They replayed the tape recording of the call Leitch made after the supposed incident, investigators said, then began reviewing the rest of the facts.
That Leitch never returned the gunfire and didn't pursue the suspect vehicle - even though he was only slightly wounded - raised their suspicions, according to investigators. Although Leitch's car was hit several times it was not disabled, detectives said.
Leitch reported that he stopped to help a motorist pulled off to the side of the road about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday. He reported that a man came from around the front of the car, pulled a gun out of the vehicle and began shooting.