Fugitive in custody after SWAT standoff in West Valley City

Fugitive Ezra Hernandez was taken into custody after a SWAT standoff on Wednesday, May 2, 2018. Photos: Unified Police Department, Gephardt Daily

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, May 2, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Fugitive Ezra Hernandez — wanted in connection with an April 20 stabbing in Millcreek — has been taken into custody after a SWAT standoff.

Hernandez surrendered to SWAT officers at about 7:40 p.m. Wednesday in an incident that began as a fugitive-apprehension operation with the Metro Gang Unit.

Officers arrived at the scene at about 5:30 or 6 p.m. after the Metro Gang Unit had obtained information that Hernandez was in an apartment at 3185 S. 4060 West.

Lt. Brian Lohrke, Unified Police Department, said Metro Gang Unit officers have been attempting to track Hernandez since the stabbing in the early hours of April 20, which followed an argument.

“Hernandez is suspected of stabbing a 24-year-old male,” Lohrke said. “He was taken to the hospital in critical condition, but is now recovering.”

On Wednesday evening, officers evacuated nearby apartments and began to negotiate with Hernandez, who may have been in the apartment with a second person who would not come out and was not a suspect.

Hernandez surrendered after about two hours.

Lohrke said a lot of work goes into the successful arrest of a fugitive.

“It does take a lot of work,” he said. “Sometimes it’s a needle in a haystack, so it takes some very specific investigative methods to locate our person.”

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