CEDAR CITY, Utah — A Cedar City Public Works employee is now facing a charge for threatening someone with a dangerous weapon in a fight, following police saying he pulled a gun on a coworker. Francis Joseph Samhammer, 62, was arrested Wednesday.
According to court documents, deputies with the Iron County Sheriff's Department were called by a coworker of the two involved who remained anonymous due to fear of retaliation. The tipster told investigators that following an argument during work to chip seal a road, one man had pulled a gun on his coworker.
Detectives got in contact with the superintendent of the two employees who identified the suspect as Francis Samhammer and the victim as a fellow coworker. Police say the superintendent informed them that while the victim and Samhammer were working on Shurtz Canyon Road, the victim allegedly cut off Samhammer, who was in a chip sealer truck.
Witnesses state that when the victim approached Samhammer's vehicle, he was met with a gun in Samhammer's hand. The victim reported the incident to his supervisors, and Samhammer was given a 2-day suspension.
Sheriff's deputies met with Samhammer at his home in Enoch, and he agreed to speak with them. According to him, after he was cut off by his coworker, he began yelling and pointed his gun at the vehicle his coworker was in.
Samhammer claimed he then placed the gun on the floorboard of the truck he was driving and walked around to cool off. When he returned to the truck and was in the process of putting the gun away, Samhammer says his coworker approached and noticed the gun in his hand.
When asked by investigators about witness statements saying that he had pointed the gun at his coworker, Samhammer told police he couldn't remember.
