State seeks death penalty for alleged killer in Tremonton shooting

SALT LAKE CITY — After a sergeant and an officer with the Tremonton-Garland Police Department were shot and killed on Sunday, prosecutors in the case filed charges on Wednesday night, noting they will seek the death penalty.

In total, the man, Ryan Michael Bate, 32, will face 20 charges:

• Two counts of aggravated murder, first-degree felonies
• Four attempted aggravated murder, first-degree felonies
• Endangerment of a police service K-9, a third-degree felony
• Three counts of possession of an incendiary device, second-degree felonies
• Two counts of possession of a dangerous weapon with criminal intent, class A misdemeanor
• Three counts of assault, class A misdemeanor
• Unlawful detention, class A misdemeanor
• Threat of violence, class A misdemeanor
• Three counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, class B misdemeanors

The charges Bate faces for assault, unlawful detention and threat of violence are classified as domestic violence charges and were heightened in severity due to Bate’s history with domestic violence cases.

Gov. Cox supports death penalty for Bate

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he supported the prosecutors’ decision to seek the death penalty in his monthly news conference on Thursday.

“I don’t know the details about this particular suspect and his mental state, but he deserves the death penalty,” Cox said.

The governor also said officials were looking into whether the legal system should be strengthened, in light of revelations that Bate has a history of domestic violence cases. However, Cox said even that history wouldn’t have made it possible to predict what happened Sunday night.

“The answer can’t always be, ‘When somebody does something wrong, we lock them up forever.’ That can’t be the answer,” Cox said. “We’re always trying to find balance in the system. There is a review that is happening of this person’s background, specifically around domestic violence charges.”

Cox said the Utah Legislature has recently made “significant changes” to how domestic violence cases are handled in the legal system.

“The question is, would those changes have impacted this? We’ll learn what we can from this to prevent it from happening in the future… And if mistakes were made and if we can strengthen the system, then we absolutely should,” Cox said. “But it’s impossible for any of us to predict what will happen.”

Cox said that the death penalty was “very appropriate in this case,” and he supported it for Bate.

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This is a developing story. It may be updated.