ST. GEORGE — A northern Utah man pleaded guilty Thursday to three misdemeanor charges after making threats to shoot customers at an unspecified Walmart location in December.
Milton Bowcutt, 27, of Clearfield, appeared in 5th District Court where he agreed to plead guilty to three misdemeanors, including one count of unlawful possession/purchase/transfer of a dangerous weapon, one count of threat of violence and one count of possession of a controlled substance/marijuana.
In exchange for the guilty plea, the state agreed to accept a plea in abeyance, where the prosecutor will move to dismiss all charges if Bowcutt successfully completes the terms of the arrangement, which include paying a $500 fine and not committing any new crimes for 12 months.
Bowcutt was also ordered by 5th District Court Judge Eric A. Ludlow to complete any recommended treatment within 12 months of the date of the hearing, maintain full-time employment or schooling, abstain from using any alcohol or controlled substances and to have no contact with the victim or the victim’s family.
Charges were initially filed Dec. 7 after an incident that took place earlier that same day when law enforcement officials were notified by the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office that Bowcutt had been tracked in the Washington County area and that he had made threats to shoot customers at a Walmart store and then commit “suicide by cop.”
Read more: Man arrested after threatening to shoot Walmart customers
Before Bowcutt could potentially act on his threats, deputies were notified that he was spotted in the Springdale area and appeared to be heading south. They were able to stop the vehicle on state Route 9 just north of LaVerkin minutes later. The defendant was taken into custody without further incident and transported to jail.
The case was scheduled for review Dec. 18 to track the defendant’s progress.
This report is based on statements from 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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