The 50-year-old suspect involved in a West Valley City standoff was taken into custody after allegedly torturing someone and holding them hostage for 12 days.
According to the probable cause statement, officers were dispatched to a report of a man with a gun on Friday, who had allegedly been holding someone hostage since Nov. 1. The hostage reported the man had shot “multiple rounds” with a handgun and had murdered an unidentified woman in front of the hostage. According to the statement, police have not confirmed at this point if a woman was murdered.
The hostage told officers the man held a gun to their head, cut them and forced them to drink WD40. The hostage was allowed “very little food” and was not allowed to sleep, according to the statement.
Police also reported in the statement that sexual intercourse occurred at some point during the period the victim was held hostage, and the victim “felt that if they told [the suspect] they did not want to have sexual intercourse that [he] would most likely kill them.”
Once officers were on scene, the suspect threw objects out the window at them and told them he was armed, also firing a single shot at the officers. The man eventually exited the residence armed with a sword, ignoring commands to drop the weapon. He dropped the sword after “less lethal force” was used on him, according to the statement.
The man then attempted to run away on foot, refusing to stop with officer commands. A K9 officer took him to the ground, and while officers took the man into custody, he “fought with officers and eventually was placed into handcuffs.” Police reported in the statement that the man has previous charges making him a restricted person in possession of a firearm.
The man is now being held without bail at the Salt Lake County Jail.
