MIDVALE, Utah, Aug. 4, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A 42-year-old Midvale man reported for allegedly detaining a woman and putting his hands around her neck, was arrested by Unified police after they say he choked and attempted to disarm a responding officer.
Police responded at 10:14 p.m. Saturday and knocked on the door of a residence at the Remington Apartments, at 7400 S. State. An officer heard a male and female arguing, and knocked on the door. Ruben Serna answered, his affidavit says.
“I asked Ruben if he would exit the apartment to speak with me about what was going on,” the charging document says. “Ruben declined and attempted to slam the door closed. To prevent any harm to any of the other occupants inside (the apartment), I pushed the door open and Ruben immediately started fighting with officers.
“Ruben refused to put his hands behind his back and was pushed to the ground. Once on the ground, Ruben was able to place one of his hands around the throat of an officer and applied enough pressure to cause markings and restrict proper respiratory function of the officer. I was advised that Ruben had also attempted to reach for this same officer’s firearm and attempted to unholster the firearm.
“Ruben continued to fight with officers despite being told to place his hands behind his back numerous times.”
Serna “was eventually placed in police custody and an investigation into the domestic portion of this incident was conducted. It was discovered Ruben had restricted the complainant [victim] from leaving the apartment.
“The victim stated she tried numerous times to leave and Ruben would not allow her to and eventually grabbed her by the back of the neck.”
Children were present at the time of the incidents, the police statement says.
Serna was taken into custody for investigation of:
- Disarming a police officer – firearm, a first-degree felony
- Assault on peace officer/military force producing death/injury, a second degree felony
- Assault on peace officer or military service member in uniform, a class A misdemeanor
- Interfering with a peace officer, a class B misdemeanor
- Assault, a class B misdemeanor
- Unlawful detention, a class B misdemeanor
- Domestic violence in the presence of a child, a class B misdemeanor
As always, charges will be determined by the County Attorney’s Office.
Serna was ordered to be held without bail in the Salt Lake County jail system.
