A Salt Lake man who was acquitted of murder earlier this year is still going to prison, after a judge sentenced him in March for firing at another driver during what prosecutors describe as a violent road rage showdown on State Route 201.
The October 7, 2024, crash left 50-year-old Jose Ramirez dead after both vehicles smashed into a concrete barrier on eastbound SR-201 near 1000 West, according to prosecutors. The judge credited the defendant with roughly a year and five months he had already spent in custody.
On March 3, 3rd District Judge Kara Pettit sentenced 46-year-old Thomas Jim Long to two terms of five years to life and nine terms of three to five years. Pettit said those sentences could run concurrently and gave Long credit for about a year and five months already served, a structure that means he will spend at least five years behind bars, according to KSL.
How prosecutors say the crash unfolded
According to the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office, the confrontation started when Ramirez’s Dodge Ram merged onto eastbound SR-201 and Long accelerated ahead. Prosecutors say Long repeatedly cut Ramirez off and brake-checked him before both vehicles slammed into a concrete barrier near 1000 West…