SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah man accused of fatally shooting a Provo police officer has been charged with aggravated murder by prosecutors who say he had told friends he was willing to get in a shootout with police to avoid returning to prison.
Prosecutors say in charges filed Wednesday that 40-year-old Matt Frank Hoover refused to get out of his truck when officers encountered him on Jan. 5 in an Orem shopping center parking lot. He shot officer Joseph Shinners after he jumped in the truck to help make the arrest.
Hoover had an extensive criminal record dating back more than two decades and was wanted for several probation violations.
Hoover doesn’t have a listed attorney.
The charges say Hoover tested positive for methamphetamines and opiates.
