BOX ELDER COUNTY, Utah — The Tremonton-Garland Police Department marked the one-year anniversary Monday of the loss of Sgt. Lee Sorensen and Officer Eric Estrada, who were killed in the line of duty on Aug. 17, 2025.
In a memorial statement released on social media, department officials reflected on the ongoing grief within the agency and expressed gratitude to the local community for its continued support over the past year.
“A year has passed, but their absence is still felt every day—in our building, in our patrol cars, in the stories we tell, and in the moments when we still expect them to walk through the door,” the police department said.
Department officials remembered both officers as devoted husbands, fathers, and friends, emphasizing their dedicated service and contributions to the community beyond the tragedy of their deaths.
Ryan Michael Bate, 33, faces the death penalty on 19 counts, including two capital counts of aggravated murder. The gunfire also injured Box Elder County Sheriff’s Deputy Mike Allred and his police K-9, Azula.
According to police interviews and phone recordings presented during a preliminary hearing in June, Bate’s wife reported he assaulted her in front of their three children and threatened to kill her if she called 911. Audio recordings captured Bate warning that if police showed up, he would “send them away in caskets.”
When Sorensen arrived, Bate opened fire on the vehicle and shot the sergeant as he stepped out to assist Bate’s fleeing wife. Estrada arrived moments later and was shot and killed while running to help his sergeant. Deputy Allred was fired upon as he arrived, with bullet fragments injuring him and his police dog.
First District Judge Spencer D. Walsh has scheduled an in-person hearing for Sept. 10 to deliver his ruling on whether Bate will be bound over for trial.