Prosecutors are seeking death penalty for man who hit and killed police officer with tractor-trailer

PROVO, Utah – The man charged with the first-degree murder of Sgt. Bill Hooser could face the death penalty if he hits him with a tractor-trailer.

The Utah County District Attorney's Office announced Wednesday that it has filed “a request for the death penalty” for 42-year-old Michael Aaron Jayne.

Jayne is accused of murder for Hooser's death. On the morning of May 5, Hooser and UHP trooper Dustin Griffiths stopped Jayne in his truck on I-15 in Santaquin. When they asked him to get out of the taxi, Jayne allegedly drove off, then turned around and sped toward the two officers. He ran over and killed Hooser, then went on a theft spree before being found more than 150 miles away.

“The Court has appointed two attorneys, both qualified under the Utah Code of Criminal Procedure, to represent individuals charged with a crime that is punishable by the death penalty,” the Utah County Prosecutor’s Office wrote in Wednesday’s announcement.

Court documents in the case added that the decision to seek the death penalty was made after consultation with Hooser's family.

Jayne is being held without bail. His next hearing, a status conference, is scheduled for Nov. 13.