The 44-year-old man had been evicted from the house at 1180 S. 800 West last week. On Monday, he somehow got back into the house and called police around 2:20 p.m., telling them he had turned on all the home's gas appliances. He said he planned to blow the place up and would ''take out'' any officers who approached the house, said Salt Lake City police spokesman Jeff Bedard.

Authorities cut off the gas supply to the house, but the man claimed he also had containers of propane inside. From outside the house, officers spotted the man holding a 12-inch knife and what they believed was a shotgun, Bedard said.

A SWAT team tossed a phone into the house to make contact with the man, but he "threw it right back out," Bedard said.

Around 6 p.m., officers fired tear gas into the house. Wilt came outside clutching an ax with both hands, Bedard said. Officers fired a ''baton round,'' a nonfatal projectile of wood or stuffed fabric shot from a gun, and the man fell to the ground, Bedard said. He then got back up and, still holding the ax, approached officers again. They deployed Tasers and arrested him.

The man was to be lodged in the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of making terroristic threats and trespassing, Bedard said. The man also faced an outstanding warrant for violating a protective order, Bedard said.

- Erin Alberty