ST. GEORGE — An 18-year-old was arrested last weekend when a street fight escalated into an alleged aggravated assault with a firearm as witnessed by multiple neighbors and bystanders, police say.
Jensen Hollingsworth Carter, of St. George, was arrested Sunday following a disturbance on East 740 North in St. George that possibly involved a firearm.
According to charging documents, officers spoke to witnesses who said the suspect was outside with a handgun threatening to “shoot multiple people,” the report alleges.
Officers learned that several neighbors were yelling at the suspect as he drove past them at a high rate of speed. While a bystander was trying to calm the neighbors, the report states, Carter drew a silver and black handgun from his waistband and struck the bystander in the head with it.
The blow dropped the victim to the ground, and the suspect continued to strike the man in the head. Carter, the report alleges, held the handgun to the injured man’s head and threatened to shoot him.
The suspect then waved the gun around and threatened to shoot several other witnesses before running into the house, bystanders told police.
Minutes later, the suspect and two other people ran out of the residence and fled the area in a vehicle.
Minutes later, officers stopped the vehicle a few blocks away. When officers confronted the suspect, Carter reportedly denied having a handgun and said he got into a fistfight with the victim in the middle of the street.
The suspect’s account was inconsistent with what officers found at the scene. The victim had “significant swelling” to the head, as well as facial injuries consistent with being struck with a handgun or some other hard object.
During a search of the suspect’s home, officers recovered a magazine with .45-caliber ammunition, along with ammunition for a rifle and 9 mm rounds that were located in the room. The handgun, however, was not located in the vehicle or the residence.
Carter was arrested and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility shortly after 5 p.m. On Monday, the suspect was formally charged with one second-degree felony count of using a concealed weapon in the commission of a violent felony and one count of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony.
He was also charged with one count each of assault with substantial bodily injury, threat of violence, along with possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia, alcohol and tobacco for the substances recovered from the suspect’s room.
A public safety assessment report was flagged indicating the suspect has an elevated risk of committing a violent offense.
The suspect was also arrested on several active warrants, including one that was issued in a case filed in November involving felony possession of a firearm by a restricted person, along with misdemeanor drug and suspended license charges.
The charges were filed following a traffic stop wherein officers recovered a .45-caliber Glock, along with suspected THC vapes and paraphernalia. A note included in the initial report indicated that Carter was known to carry weapons, including stolen weapons. The warrant was issued after the suspect failed to appear for a scheduled hearing and the case is still open with the courts.
Another warrant was issued on a case involving the threat of violence and disorderly charges that were filed in May, which was when the firearm notations were made that officers found six months later. The warrant was issued in January and this case is also still pending.
Following an initial appearance , the defendant appeared for a bail reduction hearing Wednesday and he remains in jail without bail.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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