Crime - The Salt Lake Tribune

Survivor of I-215 fatal crash remains in critical condition

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:23:02 MDT

Survivor of I-215 fatal crash remains in critical condition

by Bob Mims The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 09:23AM MDT

A West Valley City man remained in critical condition Thursday, four days after he was injured in a multi-vehicle crash that killed another man on Interstate 215. The condition of Juan Garcia, 46, was unchanged from late Monday, when he was flown by helicopter to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, according to hospital spokesman Jess Gomez. Meanwhile, Utah Highway Patrol Cpl. Todd Johnson said troopers believe an unspecified medical condition was to blame for the accidents, triggered when B...

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Police raid live sex show in Syracuse, arrest six

Thu, 23 May 2013 09:04:23 MDT

Police raid live sex show in Syracuse, arrest six

by Bob Mims The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 09:04AM MDT

It started with a tip from a confidential informant. Before Syracuse police were done, half a dozen people were behind bars for promoting, participating in and watching an illegal live sex show. Syracuse Police Chief Garret Atkin said the tip came in to his detectives on Wednesday, stating that the illicit event was planned for just after midnight inside the Syracuse 6 Movie Theater at 2428 West 1700 South. A search warrant was obtained and early Thursday morning Syracuse officers, members of th...

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Wife: Man shot by West Valley City cops “didn’t have the guts” to kill himself

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:49:12 MDT

Wife: Man shot by West Valley City cops “didn’t have the guts” to kill himself

by Janelle Stecklein The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 07:49AM MDT

The wife of a man who allegedly prompted a shooting inside the West Valley City Police Department lobby in April told detectives her husband went to the police department with an unloaded handgun because he wanted “someone to kill him because he didn’t have the guts to do it himself.” James Kammeyer, who was wounded but not killed, has been charged with threat of terrorism, three counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, all third-degree felon...

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Autopsy, scene search under way to I.D. Bridal Veil Falls victim

Thu, 23 May 2013 07:49:12 MDT

Autopsy, scene search under way to I.D. Bridal Veil Falls victim

by Bob Mims The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 07:49AM MDT

Efforts to identify a man who fell 200 feet to his death at Utah County’s Bridal Veil Falls continued Thursday on two fronts: a search of the scene and the Utah Medical Examiner’s autopsy table. Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Cannon said no identification was found on the body of the man, who is believed to have been between 40 and 50 years old, when he was found at the bottom of the popular Provo Canyon site about 8 p.m. Wednesday. Complicating initial efforts to identify the victim were ex...

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Utah paramedic suspected of forging prescriptions

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:31:10 MDT

Utah paramedic suspected of forging prescriptions

by Michael Mcfall The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 06:31AM MDT

For the second time this month, a member of the Unified Fire Authority has been arrested on suspicion of prescription drug charges. UFA Fire Chief Michael Jensen confirmed that paramedic Bruce Bergdahl, 44, was arrested Wednesday in Box Elder County, where the 18-year employee lives. Jensen could not elaborate on his alleged crimes, since he had not had a chance to read any police reports. A Box Elder County Jail employee said that Bergdahl was booked on three counts of forgery of a prescription...

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Susan Powell’s marriage worse than thought, documents show (video)

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:30:18 MDT

Susan Powell’s marriage worse than thought, documents show (video)

by Nate Carlisle The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 23, 2013 06:30AM MDT

Josh and Susan Powell’s marriage may have been even worse than most thought. Documents released this week by West Valley City police include evidence Josh Powell was cheating on his wife and gambling. They talk about Susan Powell having a “girl’s night out,” and imply it was to liberate herself from Josh’s control. “They had arguments every once in awhile and they had assaulted each other in the past,” reads one statement in a police report. It’s attributed to Terrica Powell, Josh’s mother. But...

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Police locate missing Davis County teen after 2 brothers found dead

Wed, 22 May 2013 23:35:04 MDT

Police locate missing Davis County teen after 2 brothers found dead

by Michael Mcfall | The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 22, 2013 11:35PM MDT

Davis County sheriff’s officers late Wednesday found a 15-year-old West Point boy who went missing after the suspicious deaths of two of his younger brothers. Aza Vidinhar was put in charge of the 10-year-old and 4-year-old boys when their mother took her other children to a dance recital, said Sgt. Susan Poulsen. Their mother was the last one to see the younger boys alive when she left her home near 25 N. 1600 West at 4:45 p.m. When she got home a while later, she found the younger boys decease...

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Cross-dressing male robs Sandy bank

Wed, 22 May 2013 22:35:03 MDT

Cross-dressing male robs Sandy bank

by Michael Mcfall The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 22, 2013 10:35PM MDT

Sandy police are looking for a cross-dressing bank robber. The male walked into Zions Bank at 8955 S. 700 East on Wednesday at 4:53 p.m., right before it closed, wearing a white blouse, white hat and white sunglasses, according to a Sandy police news release. “He placed a light blue purse on the counter and told the teller to put all of the money in the purse,” the release adds. He did not threaten violence or show any weapons, the release adds. He then left with an undisclosed amount of money. ...

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Climber falls and dies near Provo Canyon waterfall

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:53:57 MDT

Climber falls and dies near Provo Canyon waterfall

by Michael Mcfall The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 22, 2013 09:53PM MDT

Investigators need help identifying a man who died Wednesday after taking a fall in Provo Canyon. At 8:07 p.m., Utah County sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a man who fell about 200 feet at Bridal Veil Falls. When rescuers arrived they found him at the base of the falls, according to a news release. He appeared to have died from his injuries, the release adds. He didn’t have any identification, and in the absence of a missing person report from the area, investigators have not been a...

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Solicitor arrested in Herriman for aggressive salesmanship

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:36:28 MDT

Solicitor arrested in Herriman for aggressive salesmanship

by Michael Mcfall The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 22, 2013 07:36PM MDT

Police arrested a solicitor after they say he was overly aggressive in his pitch. A group of solicitors, with permission from Herriman City, have been going around selling cleaning products — but for two days, Unified police have been receiving several calls about one aggressive salesman, said Lt. Justin Hoyal. Police went out looking for him Tuesday but couldn’t find him. Then a woman called Wednesday saying he’d tried to force his way into her home and was “very argumentative” with her, Hoyal ...

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Data drives UHP’s Memorial Day crackdown

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:41:02 MDT

Data drives UHP’s Memorial Day crackdown

by Michael Mcfall The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 22, 2013 06:41PM MDT

Utah Highway Patrol hopes to make this Memorial Day weekend one for their history books. No one died in a highway crash last Memorial Day weekend — the first time that had happened in more than 15 years — and if no one does this time, that would be “almost unheard of ” for UHP, said Cpl. Todd Johnson. To better ensure that happens, UHP is using data for the first time to strategize their patrol. “[We’ve been]looking at the data over the major holidays throughout the year, tracking where we have...

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Man critical after fire heavily damages Tooele home

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:10:34 MDT

Man critical after fire heavily damages Tooele home

by Bob Mims And Michael Mcfall The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 22, 2013 05:10PM MDT

Volunteer firefighters pulled an unconscious man from a house that was engulfed in flames early Wednesday morning in Tooele. The man was transported to the hospital and the house suffered heavy damage. Tooele County Emergency Management spokesman Wade Matthews said the investigation into what caused the 3:50 a.m. blaze at the house on Isgreen Circle was just beginning, but it appeared the blaze began in the back of the house. A couple and their four children were staying in the home. When firef...

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Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder honored for public service

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:34:18 MDT

Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder honored for public service

by Jim Dalrymple Ii The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 22, 2013 02:34PM MDT

Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder began his speech Wednesday by standing to the side of the podium and cracking jokes. But just minutes later, his face hardened and his voice brimmed with righteous indignation. “People are angry. They’re being fed a line that government is broken,” Winder said. “Government is not broken. Government is why this society continues to function.” Winder’s comments came during his keynote speech at the American Society for Public Administration’s annual awards banq...

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Josh Powell’s sister recorded conversations with him and father

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:02:49 MDT

Josh Powell’s sister recorded conversations with him and father

by Pamela Manson The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 22, 2013 11:02AM MDT

Within weeks of Susan Powell’s disappearance, West Valley City police got help in their investigation from the missing woman’s sister-in-law, who secretly recorded the focus of their probe. According to documents, Jennifer Graves questioned Josh Powell, her brother, about what he did the night his wife was last seen and asked, “Where did you put her?” She also confronted their father, Steven Powell, that same night — Jan. 18, 2010, six weeks after the disappearance — about him allegedly having ...

North Logan boy critical after his bike hit by truck

Wed, 22 May 2013 10:21:03 MDT

North Logan boy critical after his bike hit by truck

by Bob Mims The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 22, 2013 10:21AM MDT

A teenage boy remained in critical condition Wednesday, the day after being hit while crossing a busy North Logan street on his bicycle. The 15-year-old boy was flown to Primary Children’s Medical Center Tuesday afternoon after being struck by a truck about 3:25 p.m. near Highway 91 and 1600 North. North Park police said the boy was three-quarters of the way across the road when he was hit in the outside northbound lane. Traffic in the inside northbound lane had stopped to let him pass by, but ...

Cash not on the menu for would-be Subway shop robber

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:53:02 MDT

Cash not on the menu for would-be Subway shop robber

by Bob Mims The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 22, 2013 08:53AM MDT

Cash was not on the menu for the would-be robber of a northwest Salt Lake City Subway sandwich shop. Police say the suspect — described as a bald, 5-foot-7 white male in his 20s, of medium build, wearing a black baseball cap, sunglasses, jeans, a gray long-sleeved shirt, white tennis shoes and sporting numerous tattoos — walked into the eatery at 1645 W. 700 North about 7:20 p.m. Tuesday. The man approached the clerk and demanded money from the cash register. Instead, the employee picked up the ...

Council says no records for mother of Utah woman shot by West Valley City officers

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:49:43 MDT

Council says no records for mother of Utah woman shot by West Valley City officers

by Janelle Stecklein The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 22, 2013 08:49AM MDT

The Salt Lake County district attorney’s office will not have to release records related to the Danielle Willard officer-involved fatal shooting, the Salt Lake County Council decided Tuesday. The council voted 7-1 to deny a request by Melissa Kennedy’s attorney for records pertaining to the November shooting in West Valley City. Jon Williams, who represents Kennedy, Willard’s mother, argued that the denial of the records was “inappropriate” and that his client has already waited 6 ½ months for a...

Weekend DUI checkpoint planned in Lehi

Wed, 22 May 2013 07:15:03 MDT

Weekend DUI checkpoint planned in Lehi

by Bob Mims The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 22, 2013 07:15AM MDT

The Lehi Police Department will keeping an extra keen eye out for impaired drivers this weekend when they set up a sobriety checkpoint on Highway 89. The checkpoint, which will operate between 9 p.m. Friday through 2 a.m. Saturday, will be set up near 860 W. State Street, according to a statement from the office of Lehi Police Chief Chad Smith. Those suspected of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol will be given standardized field sobriety tests. Drivers deemed impaired will be arres...

Susan Powell’s brother-in-law went from affable to suspicious

Wed, 22 May 2013 01:01:05 MDT

Susan Powell’s brother-in-law went from affable to suspicious

by Brooke Adams and Nate Carlisle The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 22, 2013 01:01AM MDT

Tacoma, Wash. • Of the Powell men, Michael Powell was the one people liked, and often trusted. Steve Powell wrote of missing his son Michael while he was gone. Josh Powell relied on Michael, his brother, to help him move and later to watch his children. Susan Powell’s father, Chuck Cox, wrote West Valley City police worrying his missing daughter was held prisoner by Steve Powell. But Cox specified that Michael Powell probably wouldn’t go along with it. Kiirsi Hellewell on Monday told reporte...

Teenage bicyclist struck by a truck in North Logan

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:19:02 MDT

Teenage bicyclist struck by a truck in North Logan

by Michael Mcfall | The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 21, 2013 06:19PM MDT

A 15-year-old boy was flown to the hospital Tuesday with head injuries after he was hit crossing the street on his bike. The boy, who was not immediately identified, was crossing U.S. 91 at 1600 North in North Logan about 3:24 p.m. He’d made it across the southbound lanes and the inside northbound lane, where traffic stopped for him, but a truck in the outside lane struck him, said North Park police Sgt. John Italasano. The man who had been driving said he couldn’t see the teen because of the ...