Jailed HAFB airman faces N.J. charges

A man arrested in an incident outside a downtown Salt Lake bar early Saturday morning was already under investigation for suspicion of attempted murder in connection with a 2007 Thanksgiving shooting in Trenton, N.J.

Salt Lake Police Lt. Brian Purvis said Airman 1st Class Daniel Eugene Clemons, 19, was arrested Saturday for investigation of attempted homicide, aggravated robbery, discharging a firearm at a person and obstruction of justice following the shooting of a 22-year-old man outside Club Manhattan. The victim, who has not been identified, was shot in the abdomen and transported to a Salt Lake hospital in critical condition. An update of his condition was not available Sunday.

Clemons is a member of the Air Force, as are the other three people arrested in connection with the shooting. They are Airman 1st Class Jeremy David Crist, 20, Airman 1st Class Tacota Monay Lemuel, 19, and Airman 1st Class Destinee Williams, 22. All three were arrested under suspicion of helping Clemons flee after the incident.

Trenton police did not respond to inquiries Sunday, but New Jersey media outlets indicate the charges against Clemons there stem from a Nov. 22, 2007, home invasion in which a 23-year-old man was shot as he lay in bed with his girlfriend. Clemons turned himself in to Trenton police the following day.

Hill Air Force Base spokeswoman Lt. Beth Woodward said Sunday that Clemons was on leave when he was arrested and charged in the New Jersey shooting. Woodward said Clemons returned to duty in Utah after posting bond in the case and that he was scheduled for a military discharge hearing stemming from his involvement in that investigation.

"A member of the military does not necessarily need to be convicted of a crime to be discharged," Woodward said. "Service personnel are held to a higher standard ... of conduct and fitness for duty."

Woodward said that Mercer County, N.J., authorities hold jurisdiction in the Trenton shooting and that authorities at Hill were "cooperating and supporting" the investigation there, which she described as ongoing.

Woodward said Clemons was not restricted to quarters at Hill because he was cooperating with authorities and was seen fit for release pending trial by the New Jersey court.

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E-mail: araymond@desnews.com

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