South Ogden man charged with aggravated murder after shooting victim dies
Jan 13, 2026, 1:32 PM | Updated: Jan 14, 2026, 10:41 am
South Ogden police responded to a call of shots fired Thursday before allegedly being lured into an ambush. (Tim Vandenack, KSL)
(Tim Vandenack, KSL)
SALT LAKE CITY — A South Ogden man who allegedly lured police officers into an ambush Thursday night is now facing multiple charges, including one count of aggravated murder.
According to police documents, James Joseph Rios, 45, allegedly opened fire at his neighbor’s house near 1325 East and 5800 South shortly before 10:30 p.m. out of “internal anger.”
One of the victims said he was in his room when he heard gunfire. Police said the victim spoke to his parents about what he had heard, and the victim’s father went out the front door to investigate.
Rios then allegedly hit the victim’s father in the stomach. His father collapsed, so he and his family dragged their father inside to safety. While attempting to rescue him, the victim was shot in the foot, his father was shot again in the head and the family dog “Samson” was hit and killed.
When police responded, a family member of Rios’ ran from the house towards officers, leaving him alone in the house. Police documents state the family member was afraid of being shot and killed, prompting them to flee.
Rios then allegedly fired on police officers. The Ogden Metro SWAT teams responded to the incident, along with additional police units.
Witnesses and KSL reporters on scene heard the gunfire.
Police documents said Rios “made several explicit threats to shoot and kill law enforcement officers.”
Rios eventually surrendered to police. When he was taken into custody, police said they found an unspent rifle round in his pocket along with a long rifle (30-06) with several casings loaded inside the gun.
During the investigation, police said Rios admitted to intentionally firing at his neighbor’s house with the belief that he had shot both the mother and the father that lived there. It was later confirmed that only the victim and his father had been hit, along with the family’s dog.
The victim and his father were transported to a local hospital and required surgery following their wounds. On Wednesday, police reported that the father had died from his injuries.
Officers said they found bullet holes in a car belonging to Rios’ family member, a neighbor’s car port, a second neighbor’s garage and the window and bedroom wall of a third neighbor’s house.
Additional shots were fired into the brick interior of his residence. Rios allegedly said the bullets fired into the brick were intended to keep police back.
On Tuesday, he was charged with seven counts of attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, five counts of felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony and a misdemeanor for aggravated cruelty to an animal.
On Wednesday, after one of the victims died, one count of attempted aggravated murder was updated to aggravated murder, a first-degree felony.
