Man sent to prison for injuring multiple people during Compass Academy shooting
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IDAHO FALLS — Dozens of people in a packed courtroom sat with bated breath for over three hours on Monday as a 20-year-old man was sentenced for starting a shooting over two years ago, in which he injured two people during what prosecutors have called a “wanna-be gang fight.”
Taylor Aughenbaugh was sentenced by District Judge Jason Walker to a prison sentence of five years fixed and 20 years indeterminate, for his role in a shooting at the Compass Academy parking lot on Feb. 12, 2024.
Aughenbaugh was initially indicted by a grand jury for two counts of felony aggravated battery, one count of felony destruction of evidence, and two felony enhancements for the use of a deadly weapon.
He signed a plea deal in February, agreeing to plead guilty to one count of felony aggravated battery and one felony enhancement for the use of a deadly weapon in exchange for the prosecution dropping the remaining charges in the case.
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Prosecutors also agreed to drop an additional charge of felony grand theft of a firearm in a separate case, also from the shooting, and recommend a term of five years fixed at sentencing, with the indeterminate amount open for argument.
Aughenbaugh was also sentenced in February in Bingham County, to four years of felony probation for a separate case, where he was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance.
The context of the shooting
Prosecutors have stated that multiple people showed up to a confrontation in the parking lot over an alleged stolen wallet. One man, Colton Clark, was allegedly hit in the head and was knocked unconscious before any shots rang out.
Multiple people brought guns, and Aughenbaugh was the first to shoot, firing and hitting one victim, Devan Johnson, in the back through to his chest, and hitting another man, Aaron Murdoch, in the leg.
25-year-old Alexander Barber was killed in the shooting, after being shot in the head by then 19-year-old Gabriel Perkins.
Prosecutors say Perkins also shot Johnson in the leg after he had been shot in the back, and ran over Clark’s body as he was fleeing the scene.
Perkins, now 20, was sentenced by now-retired District Judge Dane Watkins to 17 to 40 years in prison for the death of Barber and the shooting of another victim.
Skyler Andra, 19, was sentenced by Watkins to 90 days in local jail with work release, 100 hours of community service and five years of probation, with an underlying sentence of three to five years in prison if he violates his probation. Andra was the driver of a vehicle that ran over Barber after Barber was shot in the head by Perkins. Andra was later indicted for felony leaving the scene of an injury accident and pleaded guilty in a plea agreement.
Murdoch was indicted for reportedly shooting a gun toward the group of people, and is scheduled for a court hearing on May 21, where his defense attorney, Mike Winchester, has accused Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal of prosecutorial misconduct, and both sides are expected to provide arguments on the matter.
Aughenbaugh’s sentencing hearing
Aughenbaugh appeared in a dress shirt and slacks, clean shaven, after the judge approved a motion for him to arrive at his sentencing hearing in street clothes, a generally common request among defendants.
The hearing began with a victim impact statement from Johnson, who gave the court his timeline of events from that night, and described how he felt after being shot in the back through to his chest, and the leg.
“I remember calling 911, I was literally, like barely breathing. I was having a panic attack, I couldn’t breathe, I was shot in my chest and shot in the leg. I woke up to like ten cops and (I was) still in the parking lot, and they’re loading me onto the stretcher,” said Johnson. “I just remember looking at Colton and Alex, and they just wouldn’t move. And I was just seeing Alex bleeding out, looking at me. it was horrible.”
Johnson also told the court that he forgives Aughenbaugh for shooting him, and said he believes it was an accident, although he still deals with serious health issues from the injuries.
“I woke up in the hospital and over the next couple days, it was really hard to breathe. My leg was really messed up from (Perkins) shooting me. I couldn’t walk for multiple months,” said Johnson. “People make mistakes and I don’t think he intentionally meant to hurt me, I think he was just very angry and upset. And none of us should’ve had weapons.”
“Imperfect self-defense”
Aughenbaugh’s defense attorney, John Malek, showed the court security camera footage from the school on the night of the shooting, as he argued for a retained jurisdiction or a “rider” for his client.
Watch the video in the player above.
Malek noted that due to the severity of the crime, he would otherwise understand if Aughenbaugh was sentenced to the agreed-upon prison time in the plea agreement.
“Certainly, my client shot because he’s here accepting responsibility for that. But I think what the video shows is that, on approach, and given what you just hearing from Mr. Johnson, these young men obviously shouldn’t have been there, but they were terrified. They were scared for their lives,” said Malek. “And they should’ve been, because there was an individual there (that) was willing to shoot people in cold blood.”
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Malek argued that Aughenbaugh shot his gun in “imperfect self-defense” to being threatened by Perkins and the tense arguments between the two groups.
“The simple fact of the matter is that my client started shooting in response to violence being initiated,” said Malek. “And his statement has been consistent throughout. Through his statements to police, through his statements to the grand jury. My client participated in this case and cooperated with police from day one.”
“Some kind of gangsters”
Neal argued for 5 years fixed and 20 years indeterminate, stating that the fight was over “the dumbest of reasons.”
“Apparently one teenager, who was 15 or 16, took a wallet belonging to an 11-year-old. Those kinds of things are probably common among teenagers,” says Neal. “In this particular case however, some young adults decided that they were going to be the ones who engaged in protecting these two teenagers, these family members…then the agreement was made that on Feb. 12, they would all go to a school yard of all places, Compass Academy, and that they would have a confrontation over this issue of the stolen wallet.”
Neal then read a quote from Johnson in a statement he gave to the pre-sentence investigator, which seems to contradict his victim impact statement, saying that Aughenbaugh made a decision to harm others that night.
“The most serious and lasting impact on my life has come from the overall events of that day, and the violent actions involved. Taylor made the choice to bring a gun, pull it out, and start shooting first. He left us all for dead and did not seek to render help,” Neal read from Johnson’s writing. “One of my close friends, Alex, lost his life as a result. And that is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Neal continued, explaining that he struggles to describe the severity and immaturity of the situation when asked.
“The Compass Academy shooting, my colleague referred to it as ‘tragic’ and that word just seems so inadequate. What would be the next step? What would be the next 4 or 5 levels above tragic? What begins over the dumbest of reasons, develops into these very immature young adults, barely out of high school, engaging in some sort of ‘thug life.’ Like they’re some kind of gangsters. Like they’re going to be up for some kind of a ‘rumble.'”
Aughenbaugh speaks
Aughenbaugh then provided a statement, apologizing to his family, friends, the victims and their families, claiming he brought a weapon with him to the parking lot that night so he could ensure he made it back home safely to his children.
“Your honor, I value life more than anybody I know. In the plan of a year, I was both given life, and life was taken from me. I don’t ever wish to see harm inflicted on anybody, nor do it myself,” said Aughenbaugh. “I was threatened, my family was threatened, and I was fearful. So I brought a firearm to the location in order to protect myself, because I had babies that I needed to go home to.”
Aughenbaugh told the court that he wishes he hadn’t gone to the parking lot that night, and says he is ready to move forward from the shooting.
“I never meant to hurt anybody. I just wanted to get back to safety. And you know, I know Barber is here with us today, and if I could do anything to bring him back home, I would,” said Aughenbaugh. “And to his family and everybody else who can see through the camera, just know that I am sorry. The damage that I did and the trauma that was caused by that night. I just hope that everybody knows that I have trauma from that night as well, I have nightmares because of it, of not being able to help friends.”
The ruling
Walker began explaining his ruling before pronouncing sentence, initially indicating he was going to give Aughenbaugh a harsher sentence than the state asked for, saying that since Aughenbaugh was seen outside the group during the fight, before breaking into the crowd to shoot, he showed recklessness. But – Malek quickly objected to this, saying that Neal had misidentified Aughenbaugh in the video when the security footage was being played.
“Your honor, at this point I’m going to object, because at this point it’s been referenced three times – but it is not Mr. Aughenbaugh who is in the forefront og the group in the blue jeans, that you saw them push their way in and grab a firearm, that’s inaccurate,” said Malek.
Walker asked Malek to replay the video, and learned that during the first watch, when Neal had tried to describe where Aughenbaugh was standing in the video, Walker mistook him for Johnson, who was standing outside of the group during the fight, and was recording on his phone.
“I appreciate the correction because initially, I think I had Mr. Johnson and Mr. Aughenbaugh mixed with respect to where they were at. Mr. Aughenbaugh was clearly up closer to the action which certainly does more support his argument that it was an imperfect self-defense,” said Walker. “But again, with that in place…it was clear that he was the one that pulled the trigger first.”
Walker continued, referencing a text conversation that Aughenbaugh had, where he reportedly mocked police and joked about not being worried about serving time for the shooting.
“Eleven days after the incident, (Aughenbaugh) bragged about ‘my people’ reaching the gun, the police having ‘shitty’ video footage that shows nothing’ and ‘their inability to match a .9 mm to a .380 ACP,'” said Walker. “He followed with laughing emojis and noted that he doesn’t think he will have to serve time on this one.”
Before pronouncing his newly considered sentence, Walker stated that he didn’t agree with the sentence recommendation of only five years, but went with it after the security footage was clarified.
“As I’ve indicated, I don’t necessarily agree with the state with respect to the five years they’ve agreed to recommend in this case. And frankly, in my mind it should probably be more than that,” Walker said. “But I’m going to follow the state’s recommendation in this case.”