KSJD Local Newscast - December 31, 2024

The man accused of killing a 7-year-old Ute Mountain Ute boy early on Dec. 11 in Towaoc later bragged about shooting up the mobile home where the boy died. That is according to a federal arrest warrant issued Dec. 19 for 23-year-old Jeremiah Hight, also a Ute Mountain Ute tribal member. The warrant says the boy’s father, Zackieus Lang, told the FBI he and the child were in bed for the night when Lang was awakened by gunfire. He saw that his son, Zamias, had been shot and was in pain. The boy died soon after. Hight reportedly had been drinking with some companions and told one he was going to “shoot up” Lang’s house. The warrant gives no motive for the action. The warrant says one person showed the FBI a screenshot of an online conversation in which Hight bragged about “spraying” the trailer. Surveillance footage allegedly shows a person matching Hight’s appearance walking toward the mobile home with a rifle and firing a number of rounds. Twenty-four shell casings consistent with an assault-style rifle were reportedly recovered from the area where the person was seen shooting. There were 24 bullet holes in the trailer home. Hight could not be located immediately after the shooting. He was arrested Dec. 24 near Monument Valley, Utah, by members of the Navajo Police Department and the BIA Division of Drug Enforcement.