On Wednesday, James Ezell, 39, appeared for a preliminary hearing in Seventh District Court. Ezell is charged with attempted murder, aggravated burglary, both first degree felonies and assault/domestic violence and tampering with evidence, both Class A misdemeanors. According to Carbon County Deputy Attorney Jeremy Humes, the defendant waived his rights for all charges and will appear for trial at the end of August.
Criminal charges stemmed from an incident on May 16, 2017. According to a press release by the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office, Ezell engaged in a domestic violence altercation with his girlfriend at Tony’s Apartments in Helper. Michael Salzetti, 31, overheard the altercation and attempted to gain access to the apartment. An altercation then occurred in the parking lot of the apartment complex in which Ezell produced a knife and stabbed Salzetti multiple times. The defendant then fled the scene and was later located and arrested.