FARMINGTON — After agreeing to as plea bargain, a Layton man faces sentencing next month for pistol-whipping, shooting and seriously injuring his ex-girlfriend’s new date.

Aaron Gaitan surprised the victims as they were sitting in a pickup truck in front of the woman’s house on Oct. 5, 2021, and threatened to kill the woman, according to charging documents.

Gaitan, 37, pulled open the driver’s door and beat the man on the head with a pistol barrel. The woman tried to intervene and she was struck too, the arrest affidavit said. Gaitan told the woman to go inside because he was going to shoot the man, then told the man to drive away.

The man backed out of the driveway, but Gaitan fired a shot at the truck, prompting the man to drive back in, fearing Gaitan was going to harm the woman. Gaitan then ran up to the truck and fired through the passenger window, hitting the man in the thigh.

In a deal with Davis County prosecutors filed in 2nd District Court on Nov. 18, Gaitan agreed to plead guilty to first-degree felony attempted murder. In return, prosecutors agreed to drop a weapons enhancement and several other charges.

Under the agreement, Gaitan is likely to be sentenced to three years to life in state prison. Judge Davis J. Williams set sentencing for Jan. 3.

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