This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A multiple law enforcement agency manhunt Friday succeeded in taking a sex assault suspect into custody about three hours after he allegedly attacked an 18-year-old woman on Salt Lake Community College's Taylorsville campus.
Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce said officers located Timothy Alan Wyatt, 33, with his pickup truck about 10:30 a.m. He was spotted fueling his vehicle at a gas station, and UHP troopers arrested him when he came out of the store near 3500 South and Redwood Road.
Earlier, UHP — which contracts with SLCC for law enforcement services — was joined by officers from Unified and West Valley City police departments in searching for Wyatt in connection with the 7 a.m. assault.
The planned attack occurred in a women's locker room at the school, 4600 S. Redwood Road, according to a probable cause statement filed with the Salt Lake County jail. Wyatt, who is not an enrolled student, entered the locker room, covered the motion sensor for the light switch with tape and waited about 90 minutes before the female student entered, the statement says.
Wyatt was wearing Latex-type gloves when he grabbed the victim from behind and put his hand over her mouth, the statement says. As he tried to pull the woman farther into the room, the statement says, he grabbed the woman's breast "in a forceful manner."
The woman bit Wyatt's arm and elbowed him in the chest, the statement says, then ran from the locker room to seek help. The woman suffered cuts and bruises to her arm and face.
Wyatt exited the locker room through its back door and left the building through an emergency exit door he had propped open, the statement says. He left a screwdriver-type tool behind inside an athletic training room, the statement says, and took a medical supply bag from the locker room. He allegedly was seen on school security cameras near the alleged attack scene.
Wyatt has a long record of drug and firearms violations, as well as a protective order violation and a conviction for electronic communication harassment.
Unified Detective Ken Hansen said Wyatt also may have been spotted on the back deck of a home just to the west of the campus, trying to break into the residence.
Officers cordoned off an area around Interstate 215 from 4100 South to Redwood Road and 4700 South as a Department of Public Safety helicopter flew overhead.
Nearby Eisenhower Junior High, Taylorsville Elementary and Fremont Elementary schools were placed on a precautionary "shelter in place" status while police searched the area, Granite School District officials confirmed.
Twitter: @remims