Career felon goes to prison for 30-hour Pasco crime spree

A career felon is back in prison after a 30-hour crime spree that started with the brutal beating of his mother and ended with him trying to evade arrest by swimming the Snake River.

Aaron J. Hogan, 38, of Pasco, who already had 19 felony convictions on his record, was recently sentenced to 10 years and nine months in prison. He’s been moved to the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton.

He apologized to all the victims and said his actions on May 22-23 were completely out of character for him. He blamed it on being under the influence of drugs.

Hogan pleaded guilty Jan. 24 in Franklin County Superior Court to first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, theft of a vehicle, second-degree assault and felony harassment.

He was on community supervision for an earlier crime when he went on a drug-induced rampage, said Deputy Prosecutor Dave Corkrum.

Hogan arrived at his mother’s Road 68 home at 8:22 a.m. May 22, knocked on the rear sliding glass door and was let in, according to court documents.

At one point, he started punching his mother “for no apparent reason,” slammed her body against the washer, dryer and other household items, and yelled that he was going to kill her, documents said. He also tried to strangle her.

His mother told officers she could see the rage in her son and believed she was going to die. Officers noted she had broken teeth, bruises all over her face and was repeatedly coughing up blood while they talked.

Doctors treated Hogan’s mother for a broken nose and upper jaw, bruised ribs and a cut on her head that took five staples to close.

After leaving his mother’s house, Hogan walked to a home on nearby Salmon Drive and entered through a sliding door. The elderly residents, who didn’t know Hogan, were sitting in the living room and were shocked to find Hogan standing over the couch holding a long, metal bar, court documents said.

Hogan claimed his car had broken down and he needed help.

The couple tried to get him out, but Hogan hit them, grabbed their cellphone and laptop, and ordered the wife to give him her car keys. He punched and slapped her as he chased her around the house, kicked her when she fell to the ground, and then grabbed keys to a new van that was specially equipped for the husband, who has a disability, documents said.

Hogan told the wife several times that he would come back and kill her if she called police. He then drove the van through several yards, causing about $1,000 in damage to one homeowner’s gate and fence before ditching it on Deseret Drive.

He then stole a Dodge Ram truck that belonged to an acquaintance who lived on Deseret, court documents said. The keys had been left inside the truck. He drove that truck through the owner’s field, tearing down a fence in his escape.

That truck was abandoned later on Railroad Avenue.

Documents show that a nearby business was broken into, and it appeared the burglar was trying to find keys to the vehicles. When Hogan was arrested, he was wearing a bright yellow rain suit that reportedly was taken from that business.

Shortly after 11 a.m. May 23, Hogan jumped into the back seat of a car stopped at Industrial Way and Kartchner Street. He demanded the driver take him where he wanted to go, but she refused and ordered him out of her car, documents said.

Hogan then struggled to get control of the car, fighting with the woman as she was driving. The woman pulled over and tried to get another motorist’s attention for help.

That’s when Hogan shoved her out the driver’s door and took off. A passerby picked up the carjacking victim and they tried to follow her stolen car, which was found abandoned in an orchard off Martindale Road.

Officers and police dogs spent about two hours looking for Hogan, who tried to create a diversion by starting a fire in a field, court documents said. He then jumped into the Snake to escape, but didn’t get very far before surrendering to police.

Before sentencing, the Salmon Drive couple wrote to the court about how Hogan’s home invasion and beating affected them.

They asked that Hogan be “punished to the full extent of the law,” because he doesn’t need to be in our society given his brutal actions.

“I now live behind locked doors and never feel completely safe in my home,” the wife wrote. “I am always on alert and never feel safe going to answer the door if I don’t know who is there. I don’t know if this feeling will ever leave me or if I will ever be the same.”

Corkrum could have charged Hoganfor additional crimes and victims, but he thought it was overkill, he said. Plus, a judge wouldn’t have been able to give more time, since Hogan already was at the top of the sentencing range given his criminal history.

This story was originally published February 4, 2017 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Career felon goes to prison for 30-hour Pasco crime spree."