SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — The man who killed four people inside a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church in Michigan lived briefly in northern Utah over a decade ago.
Thomas Jacob Sanford was shot and killed by law enforcement officers minutes after responding to the Grand Blanc Township church, where Sanford rammed his pickup truck into the building, opened fire at those inside and set the building on fire.
While investigators are still attempting to determine a motive for the shooting, Sanford's background is becoming clearer. According to CNN, Sanford lived briefly in Utah, with court records for a 2010 arrest showing he lived in Summit County.
According to Kris Johns, a political candidate in Michigan who spoke to Sanford in front of his home last week, Sanford claimed to have moved to Utah following a military tour in Iraq to "plow snow."
Sanford was arrested in the county on March 12, 2010 for Impaired Driving, a Class B misdemeanor. Court documents in the case list multiple Park City addresses for Sanford, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a 60-day suspended jail sentence and 12 months of probation.
During his time in Utah, CNN reports Sanford had a relationship with a woman in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that he was a heavy abuser of drugs while living in the state. In April 2011, he was cited for failing to stop or yield while driving in Park City.
'He said... Mormons are the anti-Christ;' Man recalls conversation with LDS church shooter:
It's not known when Sanford moved from Utah back to Michigan, but when he did, he carried with him a deep hate of the LDS Church.
While speaking with Johns, Sanford asked him about his views on "Mormons."
"For him to just have the very pointed and direct questions about the Church of Latter-day Saints, that’s really what shook me," said Kris Johns. "Religion is not a common topic, let alone the Church of Latter-day Saints.
"He said, at the end, Mormons are the anti-Christ. I mean, that is just something I will never forget."
