Michigan church attacker had Utah ties, prior DUI conviction in Summit County

The site of the church after Thomas J Sanford drove his truck into the building, opened fire and set the building ablaze — leaving four dead and several others injured. Photo: AP

PARK CITY, Utah – The man police say drove into a Latter-day Saint church in Michigan before opening fire and setting the building ablaze — leaving four dead and several others injured — had a criminal history in Utah and a troubled personal past.

Thomas Jacob Sanford, 40, of Burton, Michigan, was fatally shot by law enforcement outside the Grand Blanc chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday. Investigators say Sanford rammed his truck into the building, fired at churchgoers, and ignited a blaze that spread through the meetinghouse. At least eight people were injured in addition to the four killed.

Court records show Sanford had a DUI conviction in Summit County more than a decade ago. In March 2010, Summit County deputies arrested him in Park City for driving under the influence. Then 24 years old, Sanford pleaded guilty, paid a $750 fine, and served a year of probation.

Sanford was a former U.S. Marine who, according to a New York Times report, struggled with drug addiction after his service in Iraq. He later lived in Jeremy Ranch for a time, working snow removal jobs and dating a woman from a Latter-day Saint family. Sanford’s friends said his resentment toward the Mormon Church began after that relationship ended.

According to a report in the Detroit Free Press, Burton City Council candidate Kris Johns said he was shocked to learn that the man accused of attacking a Latter-day Saint church in Grand Blanc was the same person he had spoken with just days earlier while canvassing. Johns described Sanford as friendly and outgoing, noting that while he expressed hostility toward the church — calling Mormons “the antichrist” — his remarks came across as typical online rhetoric rather than violent threats.

Authorities are still investigating Sanford’s motive in Sunday’s attack.

On October first the Washington Post reported the members of the Mormon church in Michigan had raised $200,000 for Sanford’s family and the families of the victims.