SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Utah deputy who was shot in the head during a crime spree last week that left another officer dead is improving but still hospitalized, authorities said Monday.
The condition of Utah County Sheriff’s Deputy Greg Sherwood, 38, has been upgraded to serious from critical, Utah County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Spencer Cannon said. It remains to be seen if he’ll make a full recovery and return to law enforcement duty, he said.
“He’s got a long road ahead of him,” Cannon said. “But we are cautiously optimistic.”
Sherwood has been with the agency for two years, and worked 11 years previously in law enforcement for the Springfield and Spanish Fork police departments, Cannon said.
Sherwood was shot Thursday while in pursuit of Jose Angel Garcia-Juaregui, 27, who they suspect fatally shot Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Cory Wride about an hour earlier on a rural highway near the town of Eagle Mountain about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City, police say.
After the initial shooting, an urgent alert went out instructing officers to head to strategic spots around the county in hopes of spotting the suspect’s truck. Sherwood spotted the truck near Santaquin, more than 30 miles south of the first shooting. Garcia-Juaregui fired at Sherwood, hitting him in the head, authorities said.
Later in Juab County, Garcia-Juaregui fired at deputies and bystanders, rammed into cars and carjacked a vehicle with a mother and toddler inside before four officers gunned him down 50 miles south of where it started.
Garcia-Juaregeui died Friday from those injuries, meaning authorities might never know the motive for his actions. An arrest warrant was issued for him the day before for alleged violations of his parole conditions.
Garcia-Juaregui served 4 1/2 years in prison for attempted homicide. He was paroled from Utah state prison in December 2012.
With Garcia-Juaregui dead, the only person prosecutors could charge is a teenage girl was with him in during the entire chase. The 17-year-old girl, whose name police aren’t releasing because she’s a juvenile, has been in custody since the shooting.
Utah County deputy attorney Chris Yannelli said they are waiting to decide on charges until they get more information from investigators to determine whether she was a willing participant. Evidence includes dash-cam videos, surveillance videos from businesses, witness interviews and interviews with the dozens of officers involved, he said. A decision on charges may not come until next week.
“We’re still getting the evidence together,” Yannelli said. “It’s just so a huge project and crime scene.”
Wride, 44, will be honored during a funeral Wednesday in Orem. He leaves behind a wife and five children.
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