Armed driver tells other driver he is ‘justice’ in St George driving aggression incident – ​​St George News

2023 File photo for illustration purposes only of a St. George Police patrol car on River Road in St. George, Utah, Oct. 23, 2023 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – A Hurricane man was arrested after reportedly brandishing a gun in the parking lot of a medical center.

Shortly after 2 p.m. Tuesday, police responded to a report of a verbal altercation between two men at 136 East Riverside Drive in the parking lot of an office complex in St. George.

One of the men allegedly brandished a gun during the argument, allegations later confirmed by video, according to charging documents filed in support of the arrest.

As police responded to the incident, the man with the gun was seen driving away in a white Chevrolet pickup truck, heading west on Riverside Drive before the first responders arrived. Police say they then spotted the truck near the intersection with Sunland Drive in St. George.

The driver of the white truck, 68-year-old Franklin Shane Mangum, was arrested after a traffic stop in a nearby parking lot.

Officers responding to the scene at the medical complex spoke with the reporting officer, who said he was traveling eastbound on Riverside Drive shortly before the altercation and the driver of the white truck swerved in the adjacent lane, nearly sideswiping his vehicle.

Mangum reportedly stayed close behind the man as he made his way to his destination, initially driving into the parking lot of the medical complex. As he exited his vehicle, the white truck pulled in and parked right next to his car, according to the reporter. According to police, Mangum told the man to get back in his car, but he couldn’t because the truck was parked so close to his driver’s door.

Mangum then moved out of the way and the other driver said he continued on to another part of the parking lot. When he got out of the car to get his cane from the trunk, Mangum reportedly approached him and pulled out a gun.

The suspect told the other man he was the “law” and “justice,” the caller told officers as he pointed the gun at him from about 10 feet away. The caller held up his hands and thought he was “going to meet his maker,” the investigating officer noted in the report.

According to police, Mangum returned to his car, placed the gun on the door hinge and told the caller he was going to “kill him.”

Officers secured video footage from a witness showing the suspect pointing the gun directly at the person reporting the incident.

In another video, officers observed the suspect placing the gun between the door and frame of the truck and standing in front of the caller, pointing the gun at him. Minutes later, the suspect got back in his truck and drove away.

They also secured a video that captured the initial confrontation and confirmed the reporter’s account of the incident.

Officers searched the suspect’s pickup truck and allegedly found a silver air rifle under the driver’s seat.

Mangum was arrested and taken to Purgatory Correctional Facility and charged with third-degree aggravated assault and threatening or using a dangerous weapon in a fight, a misdemeanor.

The case was filed on Wednesday and the suspect was released after posting bail.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other law enforcement agencies and may not contain the full extent of the findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or until a trial judge determines otherwise.

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