Police release names of man and woman killed in American Fork shootings
Officers respond to the scene outside a Cinemark in American Fork on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016. The suspect allegedly fled from the American Fork Walmart after firing upon and killing a female before heading to the Cinemark area where police engaged in gunfire with alleged suspect before his death. SAMMY JO HESTER, Daily Herald
James Dean Smith
A man and woman killed in two separate shootings Sunday night in American Fork had a romantic relationship, and a protective order had recently been filed against the man.
Lt. Gregg Ludlow with the American Fork Police Department said the man and woman, identified as James Dean Smith and Sue Ann Sands, were ex-boyfriend and girlfriend, and Sands had a temporary protective order issued Nov. 9 against Smith. The protective order was served Nov. 21.
Smith was arrested Nov. 21 on reports of driving a vehicle with expired registration and with a measurable controlled substance in said vehicle, according to arrest documents. Aside from a few traffic violations, that was Smith’s only criminal incident in Utah. His last known address was in Orem, according to court records.
Ludlow said police were actively looking for Smith, 33, at the time of the shootings, after it was reported he was stalking one of Sands’ family members.
Ludlow said Sands, 39, was at work in The Meadows shopping center Sunday night and on a break when video surveillance shows her leaving the area. He said police do not yet know why she left or where she was going.
Police received a 911 call from Sands at about 7:30 p.m. Sunday night, according to a press release from American Fork police. According to the release, Sands was screaming and told the dispatcher someone was shooting at her car.
Sands fled in her car and a chase ensued through the retail area, ending in the Walmart parking lot where Smith rammed Sands’s vehicle several times.
Sands died at the scene from a gunshot wound to the head, the release stated.
Sands most recently lived in Orem, according to court records.
Smith, who is suspected of shooting Sands, then fled the scene, before being located by law enforcement in the parking lot of the Gordman’s store in American Fork. He was killed by a gunshot wound to the head, though investigators are still looking into whether that wound was self-inflicted or if he was shot by one of the officers at the scene.
Ludlow said police had received two reports from family members of Sands in the last week and a half. One report was of property damage, but there was no evidence Smith was involved. The second report was related to the stalking, but Ludlow said police were unable to find Smith and were still looking for him when the shootings occurred.
The investigation is ongoing and more information will be released as it becomes available. The Utah County Attorney’s Office is investigating if the officer is justified in his shooting of Smith.
Ludlow said police are asking anyone who saw or heard anything in the area to call police.
“It’s a very active investigation covering a big area of space,” he said.
