Case: Smith’s Alleged Assault (Entrapment?) of Ron

Ron was assaulted & forced to defend himself, but officers charged HIM! All on video!

SECTION JUMP LIST:
Charges Against Ron
Assault Incident w/ Commentary [Speeds: 1fps, 3fps, 15fps]
Necessary Background
Description of Smith’s Footage
Affidavit of Probable Cause (to arrest Ron)
Allyson Wood’s Written Testimony
DOC: Rebuttal of Claims
DOC: Request for Discovery
Officer Bodycams
Victim Services Letter

Case #201800194:
BOUNTIFUL CITY vs. RONALD WAYNE MAKIN

In addition to Ron Makin being falsely accused of starting the small carpet fire that investigators claim was with gasoline, Ron was also involved in a case where he defended himself in the east entrance at Smith’s Marketplace, 555 South 200 West in Bountiful, Utah, on May 31, 2020.

The trial was on May 18, 2022. The sentencing for the assault(s) was on May 31.

Charges Against Ron

• Charges 1 & 2 – 76-5-102 – Assault – Class B Misdemeanor https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title76/Chapter5/76-5-S102.html
• Found NOT GUILTY (May 18, 2022): Charge 3 – 76-9-301(2) or 76-9-301(3)(A) – Cruelty to Animals Intentional/Knowingly – Class B Misdemeanor https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title76/Chapter9/76-9-S301.html

Assault Incident w/ Commentary

Here are 3 different speeds of the assault footage. They all have some significant differences in commentary, while some commentary is the same. The different speeds were necessary so that proper explanations could be given.

Necessary Background

To understand what is truly going on in the Smith’s footage and the rest of this page, it requires some specific knowledge.

Allyson and Ron have been friends since childhood, and attended some of the same classes for disabled students. Ron and Allyson are now married, as of Dec. 2021. At the time of this incident at Smith’s Marketplace, Allyson was Ron’s friend.

Allyson and Ron both have disabilities. Allyson has severe emotional and psychiatric issues, including depression and schizoaffective disorder.

Ron has traumatic brain injury, borderline autism, dyslexia, communicative difficulties, and difficulty accessing memories of events in the correct sequence. Some of his major health issues have been with his liver, lungs, back, and heart (with a pacemaker).

Like most people who have borderline autism, Ron feels a strong connection with and love of animals, especially his dog, which comforts him when he is stressed.

Ron naturally gravitates to and cares for people who are disabled, because he knows what it’s like to have disabilities, and he loves to help people and encourage them.

Description of Smith’s Footage

In the next section is the Smith’s Marketplace surveillance footage of the assault against Ron Makin.

It started with Ron and his friend, Allyson Wood, entering the store. Ron’s dog defecated inside the store, and Ron naturally got frustrated and asked Allyson to stand by the mess, so that customers would avoid stepping into the mess, while Ron searched for tissues to clean it up.

At the time of this incident, Allyson was experiencing extreme withdrawal reactions because she had stopped her necessary psych meds cold turkey some time before, which made her very unstable, easily upset and angry even before Ron asked her to stand by the mess. Ron and Allyson’s whole purpose of going to Smith’s was to get Allyson’s psychiatric medications to help emotionally stabilize her, at the suggestion and encouragement of Ron.

Notice that Ron was calm after he cleaned up the mess, but after that, Allyson was strongly provoking Ron for no reason other than having another emotional upset, by continually yelling and swearing at him and withholding his dog from him, which was not her right because it was not her dog.

After Ron lifted the dog into his cradling arms, Allyson then kept trying to take his dog away from him. Ron’s dog showed no sign of injury or pain from Ron’s actions, and authorities never saw or examined the dog or requested to see it!

The complainant (lady wearing a green shirt) touched and assaulted Ron; he never attacked her. Using his martial arts training, Ron swung his left, non-dominant arm over her head to remove her grip from him. He did not assault her, but he was charged for it.

Allyson kept provoking and restraining Ron. It does appear like Ron slapped Allyson, but she did not remember whether she was hit (slapped) or not, and she had no injury, mark, pain (or reaction of pain) from the incident. Ron used martial arts to release Allyson’s grip on him.

Notice that his hand and fingers are open as his hand passes by Allyson’s face, according to the camera’s view.

After Ron’s hand has passed to the other side of Allyson’s head, his hand has turned—his palm is still facing toward her head while his arm has become deformed in a manner quite uncharacteristic of someone who has just struck a person. Ron’s arm is exceptionally slower going away from her head than when nearing her head, way too slow for someone who has just hit someone hard. That is quite remarkable! Please read this whole paragraph again.

(Unfortunately, the camera angle doesn’t show whether Ron’s hand made contact with Allyson. Regardless, Ron would be fully justified in a small act of self defense that caused no injury or pain.)

Smith’s Footage

This Smith’s incident cannot be understood or judged correctly based on individual actions! Every action had a cause, and every action caused a greater action.

Utah Code 76-5-102. Assault. (CLICK ME)
(2) An actor commits assault if the actor:
   (a) attempts, with unlawful force or violence, to inflict bodily injury on an individual; or
   (b) commits an act, with unlawful force or violence, that:
      (i) causes bodily injury to an individual; or
      (ii) creates a substantial risk of bodily injury to an individual.

Ron did not attempt to hurt either woman! He only sought to release himself from their grips and walk away.

Also, remember that both women never claimed or implied that they were at all injured or felt any pain. In Allyson’s written statement, her interviews with officers and other legal representatives, and in the actual trial, Allyson has never claimed or implied that she was injured or felt any pain as a result from Ron’s actions.

At the trial on May 18, 2022, she said she wasn’t hit or slapped. Immediately after the trial, she adamantly said to her friends that Ron has never hit her!

In other words, what was lawfully-justified self defense to merely escape from the situation, was considered to be “assault.”

Slow-Motion Segment of Incident

Affidavit of Probable Cause

The officer who signed this document knew Ron’s name before this was written, and the composer of this document appears to not know Ron’s name. Therefore, the officer who signed this document may not have been the one who composed it.

This affidavit is the only source that claims anything inappropriate happened in the Smith’s parking lot. In all other evidence, footage, and even during the trial, there was never any mention of any such behavior, such as Ron “throwing it [his dog] into his car” or that Ron “pushed his girlfriend into the car” or that Ron was “seen swinging a small dog around by the neck.” Ron, Allyson, and even the complainant all said that nothing eventful happened outside except that Ron and Allyson got into Ron’s vehicle (a minivan, not a “car”) and drove away.

No officers had seen the Smith’s surveillance prior to Ron’s arrest.

Allyson Wood’s Written Testimony

Allyson is rescinding her written statement (shown below) and all of her accusations against Ron. The whole Smith’s incident and Allyson’s interview and her written statement took place when she was experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms from stopping her psychological medications cold turkey, when she was prone to severe emotional outbursts, as shown in her interview. In fact, in the first moment of her interview, she told police that she caused the whole incident at Smith’s! Police camera footage of her interview shows that her memories and beliefs of what happened at Smith’s kept changing; e.g., she kept changing her mind that Ron “hit” her or did not her. This means that her testimony is inadmissible. (There was no mark or injury found on her, and she never claimed that she was injured or was sore or felt pain.)

At the trial on May 18, 2022, Allyson testified that this written statement is “a false statement.” In the week before the trial, she was seeking to rescind (revoke) this written statement below. She asked her psychiatrist to help her write a letter to rescind her original statement, but her psychiatrist refused! Despite Allyson having testified as a witness that her original statement was false, the Prosecution and Judge still accepted it as valid and truthful.

Transcription of Allyson’s handwritten statement:

First Rons dog messed on the floor at Smith’s then Ron told me to stay right there until he could have a chance to clean it up & I happen to have to many psychological problems going on etc. And then I’m pretty sure he hit me & then he was abusing his sweet little dog & then I think he hit this lady (at Smith’s)

She was trying to help. She could see that it wasn’t a good situation. so Ron & I got in his van & he took me home
I think the lady was worried about my safety too Ron said he would kill that lady thats no reason to say such a horrible statement especially cuz she was trying to do all she could to help.

DOC: Rebuttal of Claims

This “Rebuttal of Claims” document will be very useful for those who want an organized, explained, high- and low-level view of this whole assault case at Smith’s and what’s wrong with the whole investigation and the accusations against Ron. It’s 10 pages.

DOC: Request for Discovery

The “Request for Discovery” is two (2) pages of items of evidence that the Defense requests or asks about.

Officer Bodycam Videos

All five of the following bodycam videos are in chronological order, by their starting time.

Allyson’s Interview

Ron’s Arrest and Booking

Victim Services Letter

A form letter sent to Allyson Wood for the Smith’s incident, sent to apparent victims.