The man charged with capital murder in the death of Santaquin Police Sgt. Bill Hooser is once again facing additional charges for allegedly spraying a deputy at the Utah County Jail with an unknown liquid.
Michael Aaron Jayne, 43, of Garrett, Indiana — who is already awaiting trial on a charge of aggravated murder and is facing a possible death sentence if convicted — is now accused of propelling an unidentified liquid into the face of a Utah County sheriff’s deputy while incarcerated.
On Sunday, about 6:50 p.m., Jayne allegedly used his hands “to forcefully hit something on the inside of his cell door through the crack, causing liquid to spray out onto the victim. When this happened, the cell door was shut. It took planning and effort to shoot the substance through the crack in his door at the right time. The victim then stepped back and radioed for an additional deputy. I then entered the unit and saw the victim wipe his face and liquid droplets on the victim’s pants and shirt,” according to a police booking affidavit.
Deputies later reviewed surveillance video and saw Jayne watching the deputy as he entered the housing unit to do a head count, the affidavit states.
He was initially arrested and later charged for allegedly running over Hooser with a semitruck intentionally on May 5, 2024, according to charging documents. A preliminary hearing in that case is scheduled to begin Nov. 24.
In August, Jayne was charged with aggravated assault by a prisoner, a second-degree felony; two counts of assault by a prisoner, a third-degree felony; and causing property damage, a class A misdemeanor. In that case, he is accused of attacking multiple deputies on July 30.
In September, his defense team filed a motion stating they are “gravely concerned” that if their client isn’t moved out of the Utah County Jail, he may not live to see a trial. But just a week later, that motion was withdrawn.