Browns Canyon resident Greg Kyle DeBoer told investigators he shot and killed 61-year-old Hideout resident Patrick Hayes in self-defense near Jordanelle State Park in a road rage incident last fall.
In December, he admitted he buried the gun near his home and was charged with one count of obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.
However, DeBoer wasn’t charged in connection with Hayes’ death, and Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby has said that’s unlikely to change. He said prosecutors don’t believe there’s enough evidence to prove DeBoer wasn’t acting in self-defense.
“Even though they might only need probable cause for a citation or an arrest or to charge, we really have in our minds ‘beyond a reasonable doubt,’ and whether we feel like we can meet that burden,” he said.
That’s raised questions about Utah’s so-called “stand-your-ground law,” which permits people to use deadly force to defend themselves, their homes or their vehicles. That’s what DeBoer is arguing in this case.
Matthew Tokson is a law professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law. He said it’s seldom a clear-cut decision for police or prosecutors to decide whether there’s enough evidence for any given charge. And he said Utah is generally considered to be friendly to stand-your-ground arguments.
“I think that Utah has a broad right of self-defense, and that might cause prosecutors to drop cases that people might otherwise expect them not to drop,” he said.
Investigators say camera footage from the Ross Creek entrance of Jordanelle State Park shows that on Sept. 25, the night of the fatal shooting, DeBoer pulled up in a Jeep Gladiator behind Hayes at around 11 p.m. They say the video shows Hayes got out of his car and was standing near the passenger side of the Jeep when he was shot.
Tokson said that’s where defense of a vehicle could fit in.
“If someone’s trying to enter your vehicle to burgle it, or basically to commit a felony inside your vehicle, you would be able to use deadly force to repel that,” he said.

According to a November press release from the sheriff’s office, Hayes allegedly approached the Jeep holding a baton and a pocketknife. From the details made public so far, it’s not clear whether Hayes attempted to enter DeBoer’s vehicle.
After the shooting, investigators say the driver of the Jeep fled the scene. No report was made to law enforcement until about 12 hours later, when a passerby found Hayes dead on the side of the road. His car was still running, with the driver’s door open and blinkers flashing.
Sue Ann Kern, Hayes’ fiancée, said she doesn’t believe Hayes was the aggressor in the altercation.
“DeBoer could have turned off to go home at Browns Canyon Road, but he didn’t – he followed Patrick,” she said. “He could have kept going or turned around, but no, he followed Patrick to the guard house at Ross Creek. For him to be following Patrick seems to me like Patrick is the victim.”
And she said it doesn’t make sense for DeBoer to claim self-defense if he rolled down his window when Hayes approached.
Without being able to see the video from the night of the fatal shooting, Tokson said he shares some of those questions.
“There was some talk of a weapon, that the other person had a weapon, but that alone isn’t enough to sort of get you there – to be able to use deadly force to defend your vehicle just because someone had a knife in their pocket or something like that,” the law professor said. “But as far as the limited amount of information we have now, I see why people are wondering, ‘Why isn’t this a crime?’ Because it seems like a shooting without an obvious threat to the person’s life.”
But he said more information about the lead-up to the shooting could provide some missing context.
Kern said she’s angry about how prosecutors are handling the case – especially their decision to charge DeBoer only with obstruction of justice, not with Hayes’ death.
“I don’t believe it’s right for the sheriff and the county attorney and the prosecuting attorney to be the judge and jury,” she said. “Let a jury decide if it was self-defense or not. Patrick deserves a trial by his peers, and he’s not here to defend himself. It’s not fair to make him a scapegoat.”
The Wasatch County Attorney’s Office did not respond to KPCW’s request for comment.
DeBoer was released on bail Dec. 27. He’s scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing for the felony obstruction charge in 4th District Court Jan. 22.