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By Myrna Trauntvein
TN Correspondent

A competency hearing for James Howard Klein was continued until August 31 in Fourth District Court in Nephi which was held virtually on Tuesday morning.

Attorneys in the case were Ryan Peters, Juab County Attorney, as the prosecuting attorney, and Stephen Frazier, defense attorney, and Judge Anthony Howell, Fourth District Court, is serving as judge.

The case stems from a major incident that occurred on May 19, 2021 that involved Klein who is now incarcerated in the Juab County Jail.

“We have received some new information,” said Peters.

Because of that, Peters asked for a continuation so that he would have time to review the new information.

Klein spoke briefly from the jail and asked that he be released because of medical conditions, stating that his wife had power of attorney over his medications.

“A doctor comes to the jail once a week,” said Judge Howell. “You can talk to him.”

Howell and Frazier both agreed to the continuance and a new hearing date was set for August 31 at 8 a.m. in Nephi. Likely, it will also be a virtual event.

Klein, 33, of Stillwater, Minnesota is charged with four counts of attempted aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, and one count of aggravated robbery, all first degree felonies. He was also charged with two counts of theft, which are second degree felonies, two counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, failing to respond to a police officer’s command to stop and altering the number or mark on a gun, all third degree felonies.

Police say 43-year-old Jennifer Huang of Roseville, Minnesota was with Klein during the initial incident and was charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, a second degree felony, one count of possession of a firearm by a restricted person and one count of possession of a controlled substance while in jail or prison, third degree felonies. She was also charged with altering the number or mark on a gun and possession of a controlled substance, both class B misdemeanors and giving false personal information to an officer, a class C misdemeanor.

On May 19, Klein and Huang were pulled over just south of the Yuba Lake State Park exit on I-15 northbound for “criminal reasons.” During the stop, Klein stole a deputy’s K-9 truck.

After a pursuit involving multiple officers, Klein crashed the vehicle. He took a rifle from inside the law enforcement vehicle and forced bystanders to give him a ride.

“He flagged down a passing car and pointed the rifle at the driver stating he would shoot her if she didn’t give him a ride. The passenger in the vehicle grabbed the barrel of the rifle and pushed it away from being pointed at the driver’s head,” the probable cause statement for Klein said.

As the driver was driving away, Klein shot the passenger, hitting him in the leg. When officers arrived at the scene, Klein began shooting at them. According to court documents, multiple bullets entered the officer’s vehicles and officers shot Klein in the leg.

Multiple agencies were involved in a manhunt to find Klein after he ran away. He was found hiding in the Sevier River around 7:30 p.m., across I-15 southwest of where the shooting took place.

Authorities took him into custody without any further issues.

It was later discovered that Klein has an extensive criminal history in Minnesota, was involved in a shootout with police in March 2020 and was out on bail for that incident.