MAGNA, Utah, Nov. 26, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A suspect who allegedly held his estranged wife and 3-year-old child hostage at a home in Magna for almost a week escaped before SWAT teams entered the residence Monday morning.
The SWAT standoff began at the woman’s home in the area of 8000 West and Molly Drive at approximately 10 a.m.
Sgt. Melody Gray, Unified Police Department, said very early Monday morning, police received a call from the woman, who was at a local hospital with the child.
“She told us that her estranged husband had shown up at her home last Tuesday night and has held her and their 3-year-old child hostage since then,” Gray said. “She wasn’t able to communicate and he threatened her with her life if she attempted to leave.”
He also threatened his own life, the woman told police. Gray said it’s not known if the suspect had a weapon during the time he held the woman and child hostage. The woman had minor injuries sustained over the course of the past week.
SWAT officers descended on the home Monday morning, but the suspect, identified by police as Elias Christopher Lorenzo Garcia, 30 had already fled.
The suspect is not armed, Gray said, but he does have a violent history. Garcia has gang affiliations as well as prior domestic violence cases, Gray said.
“We don’t necessarily consider him a threat to the public, he is more of a threat to this woman but we do have her with us,” she added.
The woman does currently have an active protective order against Garcia, Gray said, so the suspect should not have been near her in the first place.
Gray said police do not yet know how the woman and the child managed to escape as they have not conducted an interview with her yet.
Gephardt Daily will update this developing story as information is provided.
