PROVO, Utah — The trial of a man accused of shooting and killing a Provo police officer five years ago continued Tuesday with more state witnesses being called to the stand.
Matt Hoover pleaded not guilty after being charged with the death of Officer Joseph Shinners inside a Bed Bath & Beyond parking lot in Orem in January 2019.
One by one, the state called up police officers as witnesses to the stand inside the Fourth District Court. Each officer showed their respective body camera footage from the night Shinners was shot.
Prosecutors argued that Hoover intentionally shot Shinners and asked the officers to recount their experience the night he was shot.
“The gun was still moving around as there was a struggle to gain possession of that firearm,” testified Orem Officer Kayden Gonzalez.
“Are you able to describe in any more detail what you observed when you say it was moving around? What was happening?" asked the prosecutor.
“I remember seeing the barrel moving around towards several officers in the vehicle,” Gonzalez replied.
During cross-examination, Hoover's attorneys, who say their client meant to shoot himself and not Shinners, asked nearly all of Tuesday's witnesses similar questions about the nature of the scene.
The trial is about a third of the way into the 36 witnesses prosecutor Chad Grunander says the state expects to call to the stand in making their case.
