OGDEN – A man originally charged on two counts of attempted murder in an Ogden gun battle has agreed to plead guilty in order to reduce the grievous assault charges.
Ogden Police arrested Jose Bustos after trading shots with his estranged wife on June 13, according to indictments.
Bustos’ 33-year-old attorney Emily Swenson filed a proposed declaration of consent in the 2nd District Court on Monday under which Bustos will plead guilty to two cases of second degree grievous bodily harm and two cases of third degree offenses involving a firearm.
In return, Weber County’s assistant attorney Patrick Tan agreed to drop six other offenses from the shooting.
Judge Camille Neider has not yet accepted the plea deal and Bustos’ next appearance in court is not planned.
A conviction for a first degree crime carries a life sentence of five years, while the sentence for a second degree crime is one to 15 years.
An affidavit from the Ogden Police Department said that Bustos first threatened his wife and boyfriend with a gun, and then the woman pulled her own pistol and fired two shots at her husband.
“The victim believed she was about to be killed,” the affidavit said.
Bustos then allegedly drove away, turned around and fired four shots at the others as they took cover, the affidavit said.
Police said the shootout ended an escalating conflict between the estranged couple that included domestic abuse by bustos and threats with gangs.
Bustos had just dropped their five children together at his wife’s house on Eccles Avenue, and he was driving away when she arrived and was dropped off by another car.
They started arguing and Bustos pulled a gun, police said.
During the trial, Weber County Prosecutors granted the woman and her boyfriend in exchange for testifying against Busto’s immunity from prosecution.
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