Family says gunman in Utah road rage killing should face murder charge

HEBER CITY — The family of a man shot and killed near Jordanelle State Park in a road rage case a year ago says they still don't understand a decision not to file a murder charge against the alleged gunman and are calling for an independent investigation.

"For over a year, the Hayes family has sought to understand the thinking of the Wasatch County Attorney's Office," the family and their attorney, Jim Bradshaw, said in a statement on Thursday.

The family of Patrick Hayes is responding to a statement issued last week by the Wasatch County Attorney's Office explaining why no murder charge was filed.

"The family was deeply disappointed to read the recent statement released by the Wasatch County Attorney's Office. It is beyond frustrating that the county attorney is declining to prosecute an obviously dangerous offender, and it is maddening that they are doing so based upon an incorrect reading of Utah law," the Hayes family said.

On Sept. 26, 2024, Patrick L. Hayes, 61, of Hideout, Wasatch County, was found dead outside a car on the shoulder of the road near the Ross Creek Day Use Area. Police believe Hayes' body had been there for hours before being discovered. But it wasn't until weeks later in November that detectives announced they had contacted the other driver involved in what they described as a road rage confrontation.

On Dec. 26, 2024, Greg Kyle DeBoer, of Summit County, was charged with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, and accused of driving off and not calling 911 after Hayes was shot and killed. However, he is not facing any charges related to Hayes' death or for pulling the trigger.

A pre-trial conference for DeBoer's obstruction case is scheduled for Jan. 21.

In September, Hayes' family filed a complaint with the Fourth District Victims Rights Committee. The committee was created to protect victim rights and give them a place to "address specific complaints and problems within their respective judicial districts and to be an educational and supportive influence," according to its website.

"The family of Patrick Hayes respectfully seeks an independent and thorough review of the conduct and handling of the investigation and prosecution surrounding his death by the Wasatch County Attorney's Office, the Wasatch County Sheriff's Office, and the 4th District Court," the family said in its complaint. The family alleges that victim representatives "have not been provided with consistent or adequate communication from the (attorney's or sheriff's office). As a result, they have been left to navigate painful, confusing and confrontational court proceedings without meaningful notice or preparation. This lack of transparency has caused additional trauma to those already grieving the loss of their loved one."

During a hearing on Nov. 3, the committee agreed there was enough evidence to back the family's claims.

The Wasatch County Attorney's Office then issued a four-page statement to explain its decision not to charge DeBoer with murder.

According to the attorney's office, Hayes was driving home with a blood-alcohol level that was three times the legal limit that day. DeBoer says he saw Hayes as they were both transitioning between I-80 and U.S. 40 and that Hayes was driving "erratically" and nearly drove under a semitruck. As DeBoer attempted to pass Hayes, he claims he was cut off.

"DeBoer states that both drivers were driving in an aggressive manner, but that the vehicles never came into contact," according to the statement.

At that point, DeBoer says he followed Hayes. Once Hayes stopped, he got out of his vehicle with "a polymer baton in one hand and a knife in the other." Prosecutors say DeBoer "lunged" his vehicle at Hayes to stop him from approaching. But Hayes walked up to the passenger side window and struck it with his baton, according to the county attorney's office. DeBoer rolled down his window.

"Mr. DeBoer says that at this time he became concerned with getting his head beaten in with a pipe. Mr. DeBoer fired his weapon out of the passenger door window," the statement says.

The Wasatch County Attorney's Office says under Utah's self-defense law, a defendant is "not required to prove self-defense, but instead the state of Utah, the prosecutor, will ultimately need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that self-defense does not apply. Therefore, the prosecutor would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was not reasonable for the individual to believe that the person was attempting to enter the vehicle in a violent manner to perpetrate personal violence and that the force used was not necessary to prevent it.

"In this case … the Wasatch County Attorney's Office does not believe that there is admissible evidence that can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defense of vehicle does not apply," the prosecutors said. "The Wasatch County Attorney's Office does not believe that there is a likelihood that the evidence can disprove beyond a reasonable doubt the assertion of self-defense in this case. While additional facts could come to light that would change this analysis, considering our confidence in the thoroughness of the investigation that was performed, this is not likely."

But in the Hayes family's response on Thursday, Bradshaw says the refusal to file a homicide charge "is based upon a misguided and fictional interpretation of Utah law" and the family is renewing its call for "a qualified agency that does not have any conflict of interest (to) review these events and decisions." The family says the county attorney's office has "misstated the facts and is disturbingly uninformed regarding Utah law."

Hayes was armed with a fiberglass baton and a small pocketknife when he stepped out of his car, according to the family.

"The stark differences in the weaponry that these two men brought to this conflict say a great deal about their intentions. At all times … Mr. DeBoer sat inside his lifted Jeep Gladiator with one hand on his fully loaded gun," the family said.

The family also noted that DeBoer followed Hayes for miles with the intent of confronting him.

"In every road rage incident, there is a driver who wants to confront another driver about their driving. What Wasatch County seemingly fails to appreciate is that Mr. DeBoer is acknowledging that he was engaged in 'combat by agreement,'" the family said.

While Wasatch County says it consulted with prosecutors from outside agencies in making its decision, the Hayes family says the county attorney failed to mention a report by retired 3rd District Judge Richard McKelvie.

The McKelvie report included information that "the lead detective assigned to this case and his former lieutenant both told Judge McKelvie that a homicide charge needed to be filed based upon the facts uncovered during their investigation" and that "Judge McKelvie himself noted the compelling evidence supporting a homicide charge and further recognized the perception of the assigned investigators that interference by Wasatch County administration robbed them of their ability to gather critical evidence."

The sheriff's office allegedly uncovered evidence that DeBoer "was an unstable hothead who always carried a loaded firearm in his vehicle," according to the family's response.

The family further contends that DeBoer was the aggressor by lunging his vehicle at Hayes. As for Hayes' blood-alcohol level that day, the family says the Wasatch County Attorney's Office "seems to be suggesting that this finding might somehow justify Mr. DeBoer's conduct and therefore explain the county's refusal to file.

"The Wasatch County Attorney's Office has released information that is protected, irrelevant and unreliable. They display a bias that should disqualify them," the statement continued.

The family also accused prosecutors of incorrectly citing a "stand your ground" law in Utah's self-defense statute, while noting DeBoer could have just as easily called 911 or just turned his car around and left.

"(Surveillance) video plainly shows that Greg Kyle DeBoer killed Pat Hayes under circumstances that cannot be justified by any provision of Utah law. Mr. DeBoer can claim self-defense, and he can assert a claim grounded in Utah's defense of vehicle statute, but justice demands that a jury be allowed to judge those claims."

Related topics