Man shot, injured by US marshals in Salt Lake City has long criminal history

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SALT LAKE CITY — A man with a history of theft and fleeing from police who was also once convicted of attempted murder has been identified as the man shot and injured by U.S. marshals on Monday.

Daniel Lynn Meinhart, 42, was on probation and had multiple warrants out for his arrest when he was spotted by members of the Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team on Monday about 4:30 p.m. near Smith's, 922 E. 2100 South. Officers attempted to block Meinhart's vehicle, but he avoided them "by going up and over a curb and driving on the sidewalk," according to a prepared statement by the U.S. Marshals Service on Tuesday.

Meinhart hit a light pole, which disabled his vehicle. A short time later, he was shot multiple times.

"VFAST officers attempted to get Meinhart to comply and surrender by using all reasonable means available to them. However, because of Meinhart's actions, VFAST officers were forced to use deadly force," the agency said. "Meinhart was struck multiple times by gunfire, however, his injuries are considered non-life-threatening and he was transported to a local area hospital."

Additional details on what prompted the shooting were not provided Tuesday. The U.S. Marshals Service noted that "an officer was placed on routine paid administrative leave."

Salt Lake police will conduct an independent investigation into the shooting.

The U.S. Marshals Service also noted Tuesday that "Meinhart has a long and violent felony history including possession of a dangerous weapon and attempted murder and is a known white supremacist gang member."

Meinhart made headlines in 2022 for breaking an officer's nose while fighting with police. At the time of that arrest, he had been charged two months earlier with two counts of aggravated assault and had a warrant out for his arrest for pointing a gun at another driver in the area of 2100 S. State during a road rage incident, according to charging documents.

In 2003, Meinhart was convicted of attempted murder in 3rd District Court and sentenced to one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison.

Most recently, he was charged in October with violating a protective order. In August, Meinhart was convicted of being a restricted person in possession of a weapon and theft for an incident at the Taylorsville Walmart. He was placed on three years of probation but a warrant was issued for his arrest on Oct. 30 for failing to follow the conditions of his probation, according to court records. In addition, he was convicted in 2023 of theft by receiving stolen property in one case and aggravated assault in another and placed on three years of probation for each. Warrants were also issued on Oct. 30 for violating the terms of his probation in each case.

According to court records, 14 cases involving felony charges have been filed against Meinhart since 2002.

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Pat Reavy

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Pat Reavy interned with KSL NewsRadio in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL NewsRadio, Deseret News or KSL.com since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.