Payson man pleads guilty to gun charge

PROVO — A man who pointed a gun at his wife and proctor son who had been engaged in sexual activity pleaded no contest Thursday to use of a weapon in a fight.

Richard Gonzales, 32, accepted a plea deal in 4th District Court, agreeing to plead guilty to a class A misdemeanor of using or displaying a dangerous weapon in a fight if state prosecutors would drop a felony aggravated assault charge, said his attorney, Mike Petro.

Gonzales came home to Payson one evening in March to find his wife, Jennifer, and their 16-year-old proctor son in the basement, both scrambling to put their clothes back on.

Proctor parents take temporary care of troubled youths in state custody until they can be reunited with their families.

Gonzales grabbed an unloaded gun and threatened the boy, who ran out of the house, then threatened his wife with the gun.

He will be sentenced July 10.

Jennifer Gonzales, a former teacher in the Juab School District, pleaded guilty previously to two, third-degree felonies of attempted forcible sex abuse and will be sentenced July 28.

The boy was not one of her students.

Prosecutors have not indicated how much, if any, jail time she will serve. Third-degree felonies carry a maximum potential of five years in prison.

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