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Wyoming man sentenced for attempted murder at Summit County convenience store

Charles Ryan Hendricks, 46, of Evanston, Wyoming, was sentenced on Monday to four years to life in the Utah State Prison for attempted murder.
Courtesy of Summit County Sheriff’s Office

A Third District Court judge has sentenced a Wyoming man to four years to life for stabbing another man in the neck at a convenience store in eastern Summit County in 2018.

Judge Patrick Corum on Monday sentenced Charles Ryan Hendricks, 46, of Evanston, Wyoming, for attempted murder, a first-degree felony. Hendricks has been in custody since his arrest in April.

Hendricks pleaded guilty but mentally ill to attempted murder in January as part of deal with prosecutors.

Paul Quinlan, Hendricks’ public defender, said he sustained a traumatic brain injury more than 20 years ago and has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He said an evaluation revealed Hendricks was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the stabbing.

“It has been determined that he is stable now and when taking his meds as prescribed he is a model inmate,” Quinlan said. “It was determined by the experts at the Department of Human Services that his mental illness could be adequately managed in the prison as long as he stays on his medicine.”

Quinlan said Hendricks will be incarcerated in a unit at the Utah State Prison that is dedicated to dealing with mentally ill inmates. However, Quinlan doesn’t think Hendricks belongs in prison.

“I am more frustrated than anything at this point. I’m never pleased when a client goes to prison,” he said. “But, there is no other alternative to sending him to prison. We don’t have any other facilities that we could send him to because there is no adequate treatment for peoples suffering from a mental health illness.”

Hendricks was arrested on April 21 for stabbing a 62-year-old man from Magna at the Bear River Lodge, located nearly 50 miles east of Kamas on the Mirror Lake Highway.

Prosecutors allege Hendricks was muttering obscenities under his breath and when the victim went to leave the store, Hendricks shoved him and yelled at him before stabbing him in the neck unprovoked.

A witness then tackled Hendricks, while others restrained him until law enforcement arrived. One of the witnesses took the knife away from Hendricks as he referred to the victim as Satan.

More than a dozen people witnessed the incident, including members of the victim’s family.


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