Man sentenced to life in prison without parole for fatal shooting of Provo police officer

PROVO — “Two beautiful, innocent little boys” were hurt the most by the death of Provo police officer Joseph Shinners, his widow and the mother of his children said Tuesday.

Kaylyn Shinners said her husband valued his family and “absolutely loved being a father.” She said her heart broke when she had to tell her youngest son why he wasn't in any photos with his father.

“That night, a man made a choice that devastated our lives,” she said.

Matt Frank Hoover, 45, was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, for shooting and killing Joseph Shinners in 2019.

Hoover also received consecutive sentences of zero to five years in prison for failing to respond to an officer, zero to five years for possession of a controlled substance and zero to five years for possession of a firearm. firearm as a restricted person – each being a prison sentence of zero to five years for possessing a firearm as a restricted person. third degree felony.

Hoover was convicted on March 15 after a three-week jury trial.

“Just like that, my world changed”

Joseph Shinners was shot and killed on Jan. 5, 2019, while attempting to arrest Hoover on a warrant outside the Bed Bath & Beyond in Orem. Hoover was also shot during the incident.

Fourth District Judge Kraig Powell's courtroom was full for the sentencing hearing, and many members of Joseph Shinners' family shared their comments.

Powell said Hoover's actions caused financial burden and psychological injury to several victims. He also said it was “extreme cruelty” for Hoover to place officers in this position. He said officers have a duty to lead an operation and putting officers in a premeditated situation like that meant there was a great risk.

Kaylyn Shinners said the last day of her husband's life was pretty normal: He fell asleep while cuddling their son, and she woke him up to get ready to start his shift as a police officer. A few hours later, she knocked on the door and opened it to two police officers. One policeman stayed to watch their son while the other rushed him to the hospital, where her husband had undergone surgery.

“I waited, the doctor came some time later and told us Joe was gone. Just like that, my world changed,” she said.

A few days after Joseph Shinners' funeral, his widow learned that she was pregnant. She said what should have been a happy moment was not. Now, she says, all her happy moments are also filled with sorrow.

“There's nothing like becoming a widow at 28, knowing I still have a long time to live without my best friend, dreading my future instead of looking forward to it, feeling the heavy burden to find everything on my own,” she said.

Kaylyn Shinners said her heart breaks for all the children she can't raise because her husband is gone, and for all the things her husband won't be able to teach his sons. She said, however, that none of his actions that night surprised her.

“He was courageous and selfless,” she said.

She said she met Joseph Shinners when she was 13. He loved talking to others and made them feel valued, she said.

“I don't think there's any way to measure how much good he did in this life, and how much good he would have continued to do if he were still alive,” she said .

Victims do not request parole

Provo Police Chief Troy Beebe said Joseph Shinners embodied love and compassion and went above and beyond to help strangers and those in need. Beebe said he was an “extraordinary peace officer.”

“The impact of the loss of Joe extends far beyond our police department, it has deeply affected the entire city of Provo,” the chief said.

Beebe said thousands of citizens, including children, took to the streets to pay their respects to the Shinners.

“I urge you to hold Hoover accountable for his heinous actions by sentencing him to life without parole,” he said.

Joseph Shinners' brother, Mike Shinners, and his father, John Shinners, also asked Powell not to grant Hoover the possibility of parole.

John Shinners said he was so proud when his son graduated from the police academy and little did he know that just a few years later his heart, and that of his entire family, would be broken.

“I wake up in the morning with a void in my life that can never be filled,” he said.

He wondered aloud what his son would have accomplished if he were still here. He said Joseph Shinners' time with his new family was cut short so soon, but he knew his son was watching over them.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander also asked for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He said Hoover had a significant criminal history and was a career criminal. He also said that Hoover downplayed his role and responsibility in the death of Joseph Shinners.

Grunander said this case is about justice and accountability, not revenge.

“Police officers do a job that very few of us want or want to do. They put their lives on the line every day. They put on the uniform and the badge, they protect us (by) standing between the criminal element and a peaceful and orderly society,” he said. “For this reason, the killing of a police officer amounts to aggravated murder and can result in a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.”

“He’s a human being.”

Hoover expressed his condolences to the Shinner family and said he thinks of them every day.

“I never intended to harm anyone. I think my history shows that,” Hoover said.

He said he was a drug addict and should have gotten help, but he doesn't think “withdrawal” is necessary.

“I know they hate me, but I wish they could hate me for the right reasons,” he said, claiming there was information the family didn't know.

He said it was “cowardly” of the other officer not to acknowledge that the gun went off while they were fighting over it, and that he didn't even see Joseph Shinners when he had shot.

Hoover's attorney, Mary Corporon, said her client wishes he had made different decisions or had succeeded in killing himself. She said he wrote several letters to the Shinner family expressing his agony over their pain, but the sending of those letters was not authorized.

Corporon read a letter Hoover wrote more than a year ago, in which he asked the family to keep an open mind and said he would accept responsibility for the truth but “not fabrications.”

“I'm not the violent monster they make me out to be – the complete opposite, in fact. I'm a calm, gentle, loving family man. I've done a lot of things in my life, but I don't never harmed anyone,” Hoover said in the letter.

Corporon said Hoover is also a father and grandfather and had family in the courtroom supporting him.

“He’s not evil incarnate, he’s a human being,” she said. “He has never claimed he is not guilty, the question is how guilty he is and what is the appropriate punishment.”

She said her client realizes that, regardless, he will likely remain in prison for the rest of his life, but asked that the possibility be open to someone later to let him out of prison.