ST. GEORGE — Washington County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a murder after they say a Springdale man shot and killed another man during an altercation reported Tuesday afternoon.
According to a press release from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to Apple Valley just after 1:30 p.m. when a caller reported suspicious activity but refusing to provide further detail.
The caller told deputies they would speak with officials when they arrived but did not disclose where they were specifically other than a general location in a rural area.
An hour and a half later, deputies were still attempting to get more information on the incident from the caller, who told deputies to follow a dirt road through a gate and past the trees.
The suspicious circumstances surrounding the call — including the limited amount of information the caller was willing to provide and the request for deputies to respond to a remote location — persuaded officials to delay the response until they could receive additional information.
Deputies gathered the information from the caller, who finally said they were needed to investigate the death of a man who had probably been dead for several hours.
According to the press release, upon their arrival, officials discovered a 50-year-old man who appeared to have died from injuries consistent with gunshot wounds. The body was discovered on the Plataclay Mine in Apple Valley.
Detectives interviewed 51-year-old Jason Howard Clinger, who told officials he shot the victim following an altercation. Officials arrested Clinger and transported him to Purgatory Correctional Facility, where he is being held on a $100,000 bond and faces a first-degree felony charge of murder.
This incident is still under investigation.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.