Ucolo man shot, killed in hail of gunfire

Sage Jennings Daves, age 22 of Dove Creek, CO, has been charged with first degree capital murder for the death of San Juan County resident Lemuel Prion.
The San Juan County Sheriffs office is not releasing press information on the ongoing investigation, but according to a probable cause statement released to the courts, Daves shot at Prion 17 times in an altercation on August 27 at Prion’s residence on Ucolo Road.
Prion, age 61, was hit multiple times, including in the abdomen, shoulder, chest and head. He died at the scene.
Daves admits to shooting Prion, according to the probable cause statement, which adds “there is substantial evidence to support” the capital felony charge.
The statement said Daves drove to Prion’s residence to talk about a property dispute. Daves said that after Prion threatened him verbally, he went to his vehicle and grabbed his gun.
Daves said Prion “stabbed” the front of the truck with a pitchfork and eventually lunged at him with the pitchfork. The 17 shots were reportedly fired at that time.
In addition to the first-degree felony, Daves is also charged with criminal trespass, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
A hearing in Seventh District Court is tentatively scheduled for September 5 in Monticello.
Prion had lived on Ucolo Road for at least the past three years. He was on the Utah Sex Offender Registry, had several felony convictions, and had served time in prison.
In 1999, Prion was convicted of the capital murder of a 19-year-old woman in Arizona in 1992. The conviction was overturned in 2002, after Prion had spent approximately three years on Death Row. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the trial court had excluded evidence of another suspect.