A Boise man who fired multiple rounds at the occupied security guard booth at the Missionary Training Center in Provo was sentenced to prison Wednesday and could potentially serve a maximum of 40 years.
And Dallin William Litster, 27, must also continue serving his sentences in Idaho for which he has several years to go.
On Aug. 3, 2020, just before 2:30 a.m., a Subaru sedan pulled up to the MTC entrance at 2005 N. 900 East. Litster got out of the vehicle and fired nine rounds into the occupied security booth, according to charging documents.
“(The guard) had to jump to the ground to keep from getting shot and (he) was injured by the broken glass. Several of the bullets hit the desk where (he) had been sitting,” the charges state. Although there were still security guards working at the the Missionary Training Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the building was vacant of missionaries due to COVID-19 restrictions.
No arrests were made at that time. The breakthrough in the case didn’t come until May 2024, when Litster was being transported to jail in Twin Falls, Idaho, for an unrelated crime and he “spontaneously stated that he had shot up a booth near the Missionary Training Center in Provo during COVID,” the charges state. Litster, who is from Boise and was enrolled at Utah Valley University in 2020, claimed it was just “vandalism” and not a drive-by shooting because no one was in the booth.
In January of this year, Litster was charged in Utah’s 4th District Court with attempted murder, a first-degree felony; aggravated assault, a third-degree felony; and criminal mischief, a class A misdemeanor. He pleaded guilty in August to a reduced charge of attempted murder, a second-degree felony, and five counts of felony discharge of a firearm for shooting in the direction of a person, a third-degree felony.
As part of the plea deal, Litster agreed not to contest a recommendation that the sentences for each charge run consecutively.
Prior to Wednesday’s sentencing, nearly a dozen letters from Litster’s family were submitted to the court in his support. The letters had a common theme that it’s been hard for his family to see Litster struggle with mental health and substance abuse issues for many years and that he should be held accountable for his actions. But the family also expressed their love for Litster and the strong support system he has waiting for him once he is released and hope that this will be the turning point in his life and that he will receive the proper rehabilitation and treatment while in prison.
On Wednesday, Judge Denise Porter sentenced Litster to a term of one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison for the attempted murder conviction, and terms of zero to five years for each of the five shooting convictions. She then ordered the sentences to all run consecutively, meaning he could potentially serve a maximum of up to 40 years.
Litster is also currently serving time in Twin Falls, Idaho, for two stalking convictions. If he serves his entire sentences, one stalking conviction will expire in 2028 and the other in 2033. Porter on Wednesday also ordered that Litster’s Utah sentences run consecutive to his Idaho sentences.
The judge then scheduled a restitution hearing for Nov. 18.