Last night, a Third District Court judge sentenced Ryan Lynn McManigal to prison for five years to life for two counts of first-degree felony possession of weapons of mass destruction and 1-15 years for one count of second-degree felony assault on a peace officer, all running consecutively. Furthermore, Mr. McManigal was sentenced to five years to life for the four-remaining possession of weapons of mass destruction charges and 1-15 years for an assault on a peace officer, all running concurrently.
On July 23, 2020, officers attempted to serve a warrant at Mr. McManigal’s home in South Jordan for a protective order violation. As officers approached his home in an armored vehicle, Mr. McManigal shot through his front door with an AR-15 style rifle around 20 times. When Mr. McManigal’s gun jammed, police took him into custody, and he admitted to making explosives that were in his home. He said those explosives could take out his neighborhood block. That lead to 600 people being evacuated from their homes so local and federal agencies could safely dispose of the explosive materials.
“Judge Bates was correct when he described this incident as ‘uniquely dangerous’ and we believe that the sentence takes into account the three sets of victims in this case: the fearful members of his family, his neighbors who were evacuated, and the police that Mr. McManigal shot at,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “Mr. McManigal was and continues to be a danger to the safety of our community and our office will always prosecute these individuals to the fullest extent of the law. We thank our lead prosecutors Rick Pehrson and Ethan Rampton, as well as our support staff for their years of work on this case. We also acknowledge the work of our public safety partners who helped avert a catastrophe.”