Violent felon, out on bail on more charges, makes death threats at hospital

Composite image features Cedar City Hospital, Cedar City, Utah, circa November 2015 | St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY – A 52-year-old man previously convicted of manslaughter and reported to be “extremely violent” during a separate arrest in 2016 has been arrested again last week, this time for allegedly threatening to kill patients and staff at Cedar City Hospital.

James Dean Hanson was arrested last week after he allegedly made threats to the public and hospital staff at the Cedar City Hospital, Cedar City, Utah, April 8, 2017 | Photo courtesy of Iron County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News / Cedar City News

James Dean Hanson is facing charges for making terroristic threats, resisting arrest and terroristic threats – all Class B misdemeanors – as a result of last week’s incident. Additionally, he may be charged for disorderly conduct – an infraction.

According to the charging documents filed in 5th District Court, Cedar City Police responded to Cedar City Hospital at around 1 p.m. April 8 on report of a “threatening disorderly adult male.”

When officers arrived, they found the Cedar City resident in the lobby area of the Emergency Room allegedly yelling profanities and threatening violence.

Multiple witnesses and victims told police Hanson had been yelling that he was “crazy” and going to “start killing people” if he didn’t see the doctor, court documents stated.

“This behavior caused alarm in those present and caused them to seek shelter behind closed secured doors,” the statement read.

Hanson did not comply with numerous directions from officers and they ultimately forced him to the ground placing him into custody.

Once out on the front lawn of the hospital, authorities asked the suspect if he possessed any weapons. Hanson responded by pulling his pants and underwear down “exposing his genitals and buttocks to hospital staff and law enforcement,” court records detailed.

The arresting officer requested the judge place a higher bail amount on Hanson since he had just been booked into jail the week before on a child abuse charge (the charge does not appear in the court database). He bailed out of Iron County Correctional Facility on $2,040 the same day he was arrested.

Hanson is currently being screened to determine whether he is eligible for mental health court.

Report continues below

Prior incidents

Hanson was charged in the Aug. 26, 2016, incident involving alleged burglary of a dwelling and possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person – both second-degree felonies – and two class B misdemeanors for theft and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The charging documents in that case allege Hanson and three others had been living in an Enoch home without permission from the owners. The Iron County SWAT Team removed Hanson from the residence due to his previous violent history and the fact that he had a .45-caliber handgun in his possession, court documents state.

Read more: Swat team sent in to arrest alleged squatters

Police reports at the time documented a prior manslaughter conviction, apparently outside of Utah, but omit particulars as to date and location of that conviction. The same reports also detail Hanson’s volatile behavior in several previous incidents, including destruction of property at Cedar City Hospital, Deputy Tom Byrd wrote in his statement to the court. Byrd alleged Hanson was “extremely violent” that day during the arrest somehow managing to slip out of handcuffs.

“(He) was hostile to deputies including banging his head on the wall at the correction facility,” the officer wrote.

Hanson had a previous address in Arizona and appeared to have no ties to the Iron County community, court documents state.

While Byrd requested a no bail hold be placed on the suspect out of concern that Hanson would return to the Enoch home and pose a threat to the homeowner, 5th District Judge John Walton set a cash only bail amount of $10,000 and Hanson bailed out Nov. 14, 2016.

Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @tracie_sullivan

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

 

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3 Comments

  • bsalmoo April 15, 2017 at 8:14 pm

    After killing someone and being set free, he probably feels invincible.

  • knobe April 16, 2017 at 8:13 am

    So he is a killer that the eunuch justice bureaucracy set free and has More arrests for violent acts last year ?
    AND was released after that because ? And now is back in after going mental again ?
    Will they keep him longer than a week this time ?

  • comments April 16, 2017 at 2:31 pm

    Hope he stays up in cedar and doesn’t wander down here.

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