Authorities on April 26 arrested a 38-year-old Page man connected with the April 13 Church Wells homicide. A Chronicle investigation revealed Bates has two identities.
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PAGE – Authorities on April 26 arrested a 38-year-old Page man connected with the April 13 Church Wells homicide.
The U.S. Marshals Service in Flagstaff, along with Kane County Sheriff’s Office detectives, arrested a “Jason Thomas Bates,” the suspect accused in connection to the fatal shooting of 49-year-old Matthew Wayne Young of Church Wells, Utah.
The suspect was booked into Coconino County Jail and awaits extradition proceedings.
U.S. Marshal David P. Gonzales of the District of Arizona wrote in a statement: “The arrest of Jason Bates was the result of excellent investigative work by Kane County Sheriff’s (detectives).
The information they provided the Deputy U.S. Marshals assigned to our Flagstaff office was key in determining Bates’ location and his capture without incident.”
A Chronicle investigation revealed Bates has two identities and reached out to Lt. Alan Alldredge of the Kane County Sheriff’s Department. Alldredge confirmed the second identity. The warrant for the homicide of Young and press releases uses the Bates alias.
California court records indicate his real name as Jason Thomas Hager, AKA “Jason T. Bates.”
The Chronicle asked the Flagstaff Police Department which name is on record for the April 26 arrest. Records supervisor Sharon Whitmore said the accused is on record as Jason Thomas Hager.
Jason Bates-Hager has a long history of arrests and convictions. He served six months in an Arizona prison for aggravated assault and jail time in California as Jason Thomas Hager. Court documents include arrests for false imprisonment, burglary, driving under the influence, and multiple assault cases, including assault on a minor.
In addition to San Bernardino County, California, Arizona court records in Coconino County, Page Municipal, Parker Justice, and Phoenix Municipal show Jason Thomas Hager as his name.
Coconino County Superior has records for both names, including an aggravated assault on a minor charge in 2003 as Jason Thomas Bates.
The St. George News reports: “According to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, Bates allegedly shot Young in the back, and seconds later, a second shot was fired into the back of Young’s head, killing him.”
The Kane County Attorney’s Office charged Hager-Bates with first-degree felony murder and four other related charges. He also faces second-degree aggravated assault and third-degree felony possession of a firearm by a restricted person.
Matthew Wayne Young was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and an Eagle Scout. According to the LDS’s ward directory, he was part of the Page Arizona Stake’s Big Water Branch.
Young was a U.S. Navy veteran who served aboard the USS Cayuga during Desert Storm. With full military honors, Young’s funeral took place April 20 in the Mayfield Cemetery in Mayfield, Utah.
