Two bounty hunters who opened fire on a pair of suspects they were pursuing last fall, wounding one in the head, have pleaded no contest to lesser assault charges.
Mark J. Brennan, 29, Sandy, and Jerry E. Hanagarne, 24, Taylorsville, each pleaded no contest to one Class A misdemeanor during a hearing Thursday before 3rd District Judge Joseph Fratto.Each could serve up to a year in jail. Sentencing is scheduled for January 21.
Brennan and Hanagarne originally were charged with aggravated assault, a third-degree felony. Brennan had also been charged with simple assault, a Class C misdemeanor. Prosecutors dropped those charges in exchange for their pleas.
The two were arrested after they shot at Brad Larson, 33, and his girlfriend, Alisha Nagel, 22, just before midnight Nov. 21, 1997, outside a Midvale home.
Both Larsen and Nagel had outstanding warrants for their arrest, Larsen for a probation violation and Nagel for drug possession charges. Brennan and Hanagarne had been tracking Nagel for four days, according to testimony during a preliminary hearing in March.
Larsen testified Nagel had evaded Brennan earlier that night, and they knew the two bounty hunters were after them. They dropped Nagel's car off at a house near 200 West and 8600 South where Larsen had been staying, and were backing out of the home's long one-lane drive when the incident began.
Larsen said he didn't see the two men's vehicle, which had pulled in behind his vehicle, and didn't know anyone was there until bullets began hitting his truck cab.
Several shots were fired, three passing through the back window and windshield. One bullet struck Larsen in the back of the head. After getting out of the truck, Brennan allegedly put handcuffs on him and sprayed him twice with pepper foam.
Hanagarne and Brennan told Midvale police detectives they drove into the lane with their car lights off to sneak up on Larsen and Nagel. Midvale police detective Greg Wathen testified the men had dealt with the two suspects before and considered Larsen violent, dangerous, and likely to be armed.
When Brennan and Hanagarne turned their car lights on and identified themselves, Larsen rammed their vehicle at least twice and they considered themselves to be in danger, Wathen said.
They identified themselves as bail enforcement officers and shouted at Larsen and Nagel to get out of the truck before opening fire with their 9mm handguns, he said.