April 21, 2010
On April 21, 2010, at 0042 hours, Centerville Police were dispatched to a suspicious Hispanic male at the Chevron Top Stop at 382 N. Market Place Drive. At 0044 hours, employees at Wendy’s, located at 363 N. Market Place Drive in Centerville, called 911 reporting that a Hispanic male was breaking into the restaurant. The Wendy’s and the Top Stop share the same parking lot. When officers arrived they found a Hispanic male adult lying under a Chevrolet Tahoe in the parking lot of Top Stop. He had been ran over, was unconscious and appeared to have life threatening injuries. As officers were calling for medical assistance and coordinating a landing zone for a medical helicopter, a 23 year old female approached and reported being kidnapped at knife point by the Hispanic male. Officers began receiving additional information indicating that the Hispanic male had attempted numerous robberies and assaults in addition to aggravated kidnapping. The Hispanic male has not been positively identified, but it is believed that he is 41 years old from Ogden.
The 23 year old white female reported that she was just leaving her work at the Smith’s Marketplace on 600 East in Salt Lake City when the Hispanic male forced his way into her car and threatened her with a knife. The suspect then forced the female to drive him towards Ogden in her car. As they approached Centerville, the kidnapped female told the man that the car was going to run out of gas so they took the exit and pulled into the Top Stop for gas. After stopping at the gas station, the suspect got out of the car and went into the store at which time the female escaped, running into a nearby business area and hid behind some shrubs.
The suspect initially entered Top Stop and came back out without contacting anyone in the store. However, he went back into the store and attempted to rob the store while trying to hide his face. The suspect claimed to have a gun and attempted to climb over the counter to get to the clerk but was pushed back by the clerk. The suspect then suddenly and without provocation attacked a man who had come into the store to make a purchase by striking the customer in the head twice knocking the customer down. The suspect was demanding the customer’s keys to his vehicle, but the customer was able to get up and push the suspect outside into the parking lot.
The suspect then ran over to the adjacent Wendy’s Restaurant and began pounding on the windows trying to get in. Inside the restaurant were four Wendy’s employees. Two of the employees reported that they thought they saw the suspect with a gun, so they retreated into a back room and locked themselves inside while calling for police. The suspect was able to force a door open, setting off the intrusion alarm while the two employees were on the phone with dispatch. The other two employees were then confronted by the suspect, and they fled out into the parking lot with the suspect chasing after them.
Once the suspect got out to the parking lot, he observed the male customer who had been assaulted leaving the parking lot in a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV. The suspect ran up to the front of the SUV and began violently pounding on the hood demanding that the victim surrender the vehicle to him. Sometime during this encounter while the victim was attempting to drive away the suspect fell down and was run over by the SUV.
The suspect was treated at the scene by South Davis Metro Fire Department and then airlifted to the hospital by AirMed helicopter The extent of his injuries is unknown at this time. The suspect was unconscious and unresponsive.
The investigation into this incident is jointly being conducted by Centerville and Salt Lake City Police Detectives. At this point, it is unclear what the motive was behind the bizarre behavior of the suspect. There is no known connection between the 23 year old kidnapping victim and the suspect. Some witnesses indicated that the suspect may have been under the influence of drugs. The suspect faces multiple felony charges which will be screened through appropriate jurisdictions. These charges may include aggravated kidnapping, auto theft, theft, aggravated assault, multiple counts of aggravated robbery, burglary and criminal mischief. None of the victims in this incident suffered serious injuries. The female possibly had a small injury to her neck, and the customer at Top Stop suffered muscle tissue damage to his face. The employees at Wendy’s were emotionally shaken but unharmed.
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