Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Chase Weston Birmingham, 21, has been charged with attempted murder.
- He was arrested and originally accused of pointing a gun at a man in Layton.
- But police say he confessed in a jail phone call that he had pulled the trigger.
LAYTON — A Roy man arrested for pointing a gun at another man admitted while in jail that he actually pulled the trigger, police say.
Chase Weston Birmingham, 21, was charged Tuesday in 2nd District Court with attempted murder, a first-degree felony; and aggravated assault, being a restricted person in possession of a gun and obstruction of justice, second-degree felonies.
On May 22, Burningham approached a man sitting on his porch in Layton. Burningham was wearing a hoodie, gloves and a mask and pointed a gun at the man on the porch, according to charging documents.
The man ran inside his house and locked the door as Burningham attempted to push his way in, the charges state.
The victim told police that "he has had issues with Burningham in the past. Burningham has threatened him and vandalized his property previously," charging documents allege.
Police who responded to the home reported recovering "an unfired bullet in the front yard where Burningham had been standing when he pointed the gun at the victim" as well as surveillance video from a neighbor that recorded the confrontation.
Adult Probation and Parole agents then went to Burningham's residence and took him into custody after finding a gun in his bedroom.
"Burningham stated he did not intend to rob the victim but to scare him," according to the charges. "Police also recovered the gloves and face mask used in the incident in Burningham's bedroom. Burningham told police that if he gets upset, he turns into a very violent person. Burningham also admitted to burning the hoodie he wore so it would not be found."
Burningham claimed that the victim had committed a crime against his family.
After he was arrested and taken to the Davis County Jail, Burningham made several phone calls.
"During one of those calls, he stated, 'He's lucky, I'll just say that, I had one in the chamber and I pulled the trigger and nothing happened, he's lucky, and I'm lucky,'" the charges say.
In 2023, Burningham was convicted of attempted aggravated robbery. He was given a suspended prison sentence and ordered to serve eight months in jail, with credit given for the approximately five months he had already served since his arrest, according to court records. He was also placed on three years of probation.
