BRIGHAM CITY — A Tremonton man is arguing that he acted in self-defense when he shot and critically injured two men suspected of stealing his electric bicycle.

An attorney for Richard Matthew Barlow, 24, filed a motion in 1st District Court last week contending that the two men rushed Barlow, causing him to fear for his life, in the Aug. 31 incident at a warehouse in Tremonton.

In charging documents, police alleged that Barlow went to confront the men and they argued. Barlow then reportedly pulled a 9 mm handgun from one pocket and a magazine from another, loaded the firearm, racked the gun and fired three shots.

After the shots, one of the men begged Barlow to help him, but he left and went home, according to the charging documents from the Tremonton-Garland Police Department and the Box Elder County Attorney’s Office.

The self-defense motion, filed by attorney Randall Richards, said Barlow was home when he heard noises in his garage, looked out and saw a man he recognized. He went to the garage and found that one of his electric bicycles was gone.

Barlow went to a warehouse where he thought the man might be, knocked on the door and then saw two men running away from the building, the motion said. Barlow “got scared” and went back to his scooter. Instead of calling police, he decided to go back to the warehouse.

The motion said Barlow put on a mask because he knew that one of the men was in a criminal gang. He knocked on the door, the two came out and one recognized him, so he took off the mask.

Barlow, according to the motion, asked them, “Are you going to give me my stuff back or should I call the cops?” and they rushed him.

“He decided to shoot to protect himself,” the motion said, adding that Barlow shot one man, then the other, then shot the first a second time when that man “came at him again.”

Barlow then “panicked” and went home, the motion said. A short time later, he reportedly decided to go back, and when he saw an ambulance at the warehouse “he knew they would be OK and went home.”

Police soon arrested Barlow at his home. The charging documents said Barlow initially denied knowing anything about the shootings but he then admitted to shooting the men. Barlow also allegedly admitted, according to the documents, “that the two never rushed at him, did not touch him, and that he did not see any weapon.”

Barlow is charged with two counts of attempted murder and three counts of felony discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury, all first-degree felonies; and a class B misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed, dangerous weapon.

Judge Brandon Maynard has scheduled a Jan. 26 hearing on the self-defense motion. Barlow remains held without bail at the Box Elder County Jail.

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