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Four charged after Utah man allegedly fires shots at woman who threatened to drive truck into makeshift cabin

Posted at 3:58 PM, Sep 07, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-07 17:58:28-04

FRUITLAND, Utah — Four people have been charged in connection with a domestic dispute during which shots were fired, and police say a woman threatened to drive a vehicle into a makeshift cabin.

According to the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office, the incident began August 30 when 44-year-old Dorothy Jo Smuin allegedly threatened to drive a pickup truck into a camp trailer that had been converted into a cabin her boyfriend, 41-year-old Ronnie James Manzanares, was inside.

Smuin threatened to drive into the structure if Manzanares didn’t tell her who was inside with him, and deputies said they later located tire tracks that showed the woman had spun the tires of the vehicle while it was pointed at the cabin.

“Both of the women in the cabin identified Manzanares as their boyfriend,” police said of the women who were inside with the man.

Police say that Manzanares responded to Smuin’s threat by firing a gun multiple times at her. Manzanares is a felon who is not allowed to possess firearms, and the women told police the man left the area after the incident to avoid contact with police.

Smuin allegedly crashed into two vehicles owned by the women inside the cabin as she left the scene. She did not call police to report the shooting but was found a short time later at a gas station, where she had already attached a spare tire to replace one that had been struck by bullets, police said.

Police arrested Manzanares the next day after he returned to the makeshift cabin. The newly formed Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team set up a perimeter and arrested the man without incident. Officers recovered a handgun believed to have been used in the shooting, as well as drugs and drug paraphernalia.

Manzanares was booked into the Duchesne County Jail on a no-bail warrant that was issued after he failed to appear at a halfway house in Salt Lake City as a condition of his parole. He has since been charged with use of a firearm by a restricted person, aggravated assault, discharge of a firearm, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Smuin was charged with obstructing the service of a Board of Pardons warrant, possession of a controlled substance, obstruction of justice, making a threat of violence, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Prosecutors have also filed charges against both women who were in the cabin with Manzanares.

Patricia Mechelle Hatch, 46, was charged with obstruction of justice and drug related offenses.

Charrise Monique Durazo, 34, was charged with obstruction of justice and two traffic-related offenses.