ST. GEORGE —A 48-year-old man who pleaded guilty to attempted murder appeared for sentencing in 5th District Court on Tuesday. Several family members and the victim who suffered 26 stab wounds described how their lives have been forever changed following what was described as “an evil act of selfishness,” that took place in the middle of the night in June 2019 at a residence in Washington City.
On Tuesday, the defendant, 48-year-old Jason Shawn Reveal, of St. George, appeared in 5th District Court for sentencing on first-degree felony aggravated attempted murder and first-degree aggravated burglary – charges the defendant pleaded guilty to last month. Three misdemeanor charges were dismissed in exchange for a guilty plea.
The early-morning attack
The case was filed following an incident reported on June 23, 2019, when officers were dispatched to a residence on the 400 block of Harvest Lane on a reported disturbance in Washington City involving a man who was critically injured with multiple stab wounds. Prior to transport, Washington City Police officers rendered emergency aid to the injured man who was then transported to St. George Regional Hospital in critical condition, according to charging documents filed at the time of the arrest.
Also found inside of the home at the time of the incident was the defendant, Reveal, who was questioned by police and then transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked into jail facing first-degree felony aggravated attempted murder, as well as the other four charges, and as it turned out, the stabbing was a domestic-related incident that also involved two children that were in the home at the time, the youngest was at the time a 12-year-old boy.
What came out during court testimony was the man suffered 24 stab wounds and would ultimately undergo multiple surgeries.
Following the arrest, the case made its way through the system with a series of counsel changes, pretrial hearings, cancelled jury trials and a myriad of motions and other court proceedings, including motions to dismiss and a motion for a change of venue – all of which were denied.
During the hearing before District Judge Eric A. Ludlow, Reveal’s defense attorney, Jacque Ramos out of Salt Lake City, opened by saying that her client has made the most of the three years he has been in jail awaiting sentencing. He has taken several classes and is making changes that will help him to make better decisions going forward. She also said the man sitting in the courtroom is not the same person who was arrested three years ago.
Ramos also mentioned that her client has had three years to reflect on what took place that night, saying he has come a long way since then, in that he started seeing a counselor and has continue to work on himself, Ramos said, with the hope that he will be a contributing member of society one day.
Lives changed in an instant
One of the victims who was in the home on the night of the attack provided a victim impact statement, saying the incident has left her once close-knit family shattered and split in half, and said the family was torn apart and then had to move away. “I not only lost my family, but I lost my friends as well,” she said.
She went on to say the support that she has received from the victim who was so injured on that night in 2019 is “the one good thing that has come out of this.”
Another family member who was in the home at the time also addressed the court, saying the defendant “has never shown remorse for this,” adding that Reveal only wanted everyone to know “how tough he is.”
She also described the terror she felt that night when the defendant kicked in both doors and then went on a rampage that has left her shattered and distrustful, adding “If you can’t feel safe in your home then what can you trust,” and then went on to say the defendant’s actions were indicative of the history of extreme violence that started when Reveal was a teen.
She closed by saying she will never feel safe regardless of whatever prison sentence was imposed. To the defendant, she said, “You attacked a man that had never said one negative thing about you.”
The victim who sustained 24 stab wounds also spoke during the hearing, saying he was grateful to be in the courtroom. “I’m here because I am still breathing,” he said. He continued by saying that had he been killed, then it would have been his mother who would have had to endure the pain of being in the courtroom to make a statement on his behalf.
He also said his life has been forever changed since the attack, and he continues to suffer from pain that he feels “everyday,” adding he does not believe he will ever fully recover from the many surgeries he has had to endure to repair the damage, in addition to the stroke he suffered from a blot clot one year after the incident.
He also said he battles depression and anxiety following the incident, and anytime he hears a loud noise, he said, “I get scared and want to check on my kids.”
He also said the only reason he was stabbed was “because I was there – that was the only reason. I didn’t even know this person,” and he characterized the attack by saying “it was a violent, evil act of complete selfishness.”
He closed by saying, “I am breathing – by the grace of God.”
The defendant speaks
The defendant also addressed the court by saying he feels remorse for what he did “everyday,” and said he was drunk and on steroids’ at the time of the incident. He also went over all of the changes he has made since his arrest, and said the victims needn’t fear him – as he would never do anything to hurt them. He also told the court that he would continue his efforts to change his life so that he can return to society some day.
The state
Prosecutor Zachary Weiland represented the state during the hearing and opened by going over what took place on the night of the incident, saying the defendant pulled up to the house and waited for an hour before deciding to enter the residence, at which point the defendant went straight to the master bedroom – where Weiland said the defendant knew his intended target would be sleeping.
The prosecutor went on to say the defendant’s claims that he was drinking and taking steroids, which caused him to act out without thinking, were not true. “This was premediated,” he said, and Reveal’s s claims of caring for his children and never doing anything to hurt them were also false.
“You kicked the front door down and never once checked on your kids – you went there for one reason and one reason only,” which was to get to his intended target – the victim.
Weiland also went over the defendant’s statements about the environment Reveal is currently in at the jail, which the defendant described as living with “wolves,” and the prosecutor countered those statements by saying it is the defendant who is the wolf, adding that Reveal “is lying” to the judge, as well as “to this court, to AP&P, he has been lying to his family and he lied to the officers that night. ”
Ludlow also spoke prior to rendering the sentence, and opened by commending the young victim who addressed the court during the hearing.
The judge also questioned many of the defendant’s statements made during the hearing by saying, “This was no accident.” Instead, Ludlow said, the defendant made choices that resulted in the victim sustaining 26 stab wounds that took more than 120 staples to repair, adding that Reveal himself had said multiple times that he thought he had killed the man.
“But by the grace of God you didn’t,” Ludlow added.
The judge then sentenced Reveal to serve an indeterminate term of five years to life on each of the first-degree felony charges – which is the statutory maximum allowed under Utah law for the charges as filed – meaning the total length of time he will ultimately server will be left up to the parole board, once he has served at least five years.
The defendant will be transported to Utah State Prison as soon as a transport is available.
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