Overview
- Fourth District Judge Thomas Low imposed two 1-to-15-year sentences for sexual exploitation of a minor and a 0-to-5-year sentence for obstruction, to run concurrently, with the parole board to determine time served.
- George Zinn, 71, admitted in his plea that shouting “I shot him, now shoot me” diverted officers from securing the scene and locating the actual shooter after the Sept. 10 killing at Utah Valley University.
- Investigators obtained a warrant for Zinn’s phone and found child sexual abuse material; he pleaded no contest to obstruction and guilty to two exploitation counts under a deal that reduced other charges.
- Police determined Zinn was not the gunman, though video of his detention widely circulated and initially fueled confusion about whether the shooter had been caught.
- A separate suspect, 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson, is charged in Kirk’s death, faces potential capital exposure, and has ongoing pretrial disputes over a claimed prosecutorial conflict and camera limits, with a preliminary hearing set for May 18.