SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah, May 31, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A Utah County man is facing felony charges after police say he attacked a female acquaintance in a Saratoga Springs Walmart, forced her to the floor and wrestled with her until her shirt came off, then waited outside to apprehend her in the parking lot.
Then, when police handcuffed him and seat belted him into a patrol car, the suspect managed to partially free himself, and at the police station, he was successful in escaping custody.
The suspect, 19-year-old Noah Randall Cook, was taken back into custody on Wednesday when police found him near the house of the woman he allegedly attacked in Walmart. Cook said he had dated the victim for about a year.
Cook is now charged with:
- Forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony
- Escaping official custody, a third-degree felony
- Trespassing, a class A misdemeanor
- Assault, a class B misdemeanor
- Two charges of theft, a class B misdemeanor
- Damaging or interrupting a communications device (the woman’s cell phone)
- Disorderly conduct, an infraction
According to a probable cause statement, police were called to the Walmart on Monday on the report of an assault. Officers detained Cook.
“As Noah was being searched officers located a small bag of marijuana in his pocket,” the statement says.
“The victim told officers she arrived at the store with friends and then Noah showed up and surprised her from behind. The victim said Noah grabbed at her and wouldn’t leave her alone. The victim said she struggled to get away from Noah and pulled out her phone to call for help. The victim said Noah took her phone away from her. While they were struggling over the phone, Noah pulled the victim to the ground and her shirt came off, exposing her breasts inside Walmart.”
The woman hid in the restroom until she thought Cook had left, then left to find her friends, the statement says.
“She found Noah waiting for her in the parking lot. Noah was taken into custody, cuffed behind his back and secured in the prisoner cage of a patrol car with a seat belt. When the initial arresting officer went back to make contact with Noah, he found Noah had removed the seatbelt and slipped his cuffs from behind him to in front of his waist.”
The officer transported Cook to the police station, seated him in a chair, and placed a shackle on Cook’s left arm, above the cuff.
“The officer left the room for approximately three minutes. During this time Noah was able to slip his left wrist through the cuff and then slip the shackle off his arm. Noah ran directly out the door of the police department and fled on foot with the handcuffs still attached to his right wrist.”
Officials were not able to locate Cook until Wednesday, when he was found on a walking path behind his victim’s residence, the statement says.
Cook has a history of arrest for theft and possession of controlled substances, the probable cause statement says.
