Realistic idea on what time my brother in law might be facing

Location: Utah

My brother-in-law is in a rough spot right now and I’m trying to get a realistic idea of what kind of time (if any) he might be facing. We’re in Utah. This all happened recently and he’s still in custody. We’re hoping bond might get posted this Monday.

Here’s the situation:

He was driving his fiancée’s car (she owns it, but only has liability insurance) and ended up crashing it. No other vehicles were involved. After the crash, he called the police himself. At first, they let him go. But later, police came to the house — supposedly to tell him he could get the car from impound — and ended up arresting him. Our assumption is they looked into him, saw he had a warrant for an old speeding violation, and used that as the reason to show up.

When they got to the house, they say they smelled marijuana and based on that had probable cause to search. During the search, they found a firearm (which his fiancée inherited from her mom years ago), a machete, drugs (believed to be Schedule I/II substances and marijuana), and paraphernalia. His fiancée and their toddler weren’t home at the time (they were away on vacation), but since it’s obvious a toddler lives there, they also hit him with a child endangerment charge.

He’s only 20 years old and doesn’t have a serious criminal history — just a couple minor citations and the speeding warrant mentioned above.

Here are the charges filed against him:
• Speed Regulations – 41-6a-601 (likely from the old warrant)
• Prohibited Dangerous Weapon Conduct – Category II Firearm – 76-11-306
• Endangerment of a Child or Vulnerable Adult – 76-5-112.5
• Possession of Controlled Substance Schedule I/II/Analog – 58-37-8
• Possession of Marijuana/Spice – 58-37-8
• Possession of Drug Paraphernalia – 58-37A-5

My family is debating whether to stick with a public defender or hire a private attorney. I personally used a private attorney in a prior felony case and it made a huge difference. My current thought is to have the public defender handle the initial discovery phase (which is usually the most expensive part), and if things look bad, switch to a private attorney after that.

I’m thinking that a few charges will be dropped assuming he pleas the fifth and didn’t talk. The cops have no evidence that those guns and drugs were there before the child left and his lawyer could argue that the wife and kids went on vacation and he had a little fun and things got too carried away which resulted in this whole situation.

Additional context:
• The gun wasn’t his — it belonged to his fiancée and had been in the house for a long time.
• No one else was involved in the crash.
• He cooperated and didn’t run.
• They found the drugs and weapons only after the search.

Questions:
1. Realistically, what kind of jail/prison time could he be facing for these charges in Utah?
2. Do you think he’ll get bond posted Monday? If so, any guesses how high it could be?
3. Is it smart to use a public defender first for discovery, then switch to a private attorney?
4. Could his fiancée sue him for the crash even though she gave him permission to drive the car? (Remember it only had liability coverage.)
5. Anything else our family should be doing or preparing for while all this unfolds?

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Just trying to get a better understanding of what he might be dealing with and how to support him wisely through this. Thanks in advance.