BEAVER COUNTY, Utah, Oct. 15, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A Beaver County man is facing a felony charge of aggravated assault after allegedly attacking his brother-in-law with a truck and a pole.
A probable cause statement from the 5th District Court of Beaver County said Jacobson Jacob Pelt, 30, is facing a charge of aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony.
The statement said that Thursday at approximately 8:10 p.m., the arresting officer was dispatched to the Beaver Valley Hospital in Beaver to assist with a disorderly patient.
“When I arrived on scene I went into the ER where I saw the hospital staff attending to a patient that was covered in blood and appeared to be in distress,” the statement said. “The patient was bleeding from a large wound on the top of his head and had a severe laceration on his left arm.
“I began talking to the patient, who was visibly upset, to find out what happened. He stated to me that his brother-in-law, Jacobson Pelt, had assaulted him.”
The man said the assault happened when he and Pelt were gathering wood in the yard and had been consuming alcohol. The man stated Pelt got angry with him, got into a white Ford Ranger, put the vehicle in reverse and struck him with the rear of the vehicle. The man stated he was hit in the right hip/buttocks area, and the impact knocked him to the ground.
The man said that while he was on the ground, Pelt exited the vehicle and began assaulting him with a bar or pole, the statement said. The victim was struck across the crown of his head, and subsequently needed 10 medical staples to close up the wound. He was then struck several more times while he was on the ground.
The assault stopped when the victim’s wife came out of the home after hearing his cries for help. When Pelt saw her, he stopped striking the victim and got into an 1980s model Ford Ranger and drove off from the scene.
“The victim stated to me that he was in fear for his life,” the statement said. “He mentioned that he had been in altercations before, but had never felt like he would be killed, like he felt tonight.”
The officer along with a Utah Highway Patrol trooper then went to the scene to try and locate Pelt. When they arrived at the address in Greenville, they met with the victim’s wife, who is Pelt’s sister.
“She stated she was inside the home when the altercation occurred and came out when she heard her husband’s cries for help,” the statement said. “When she came outside she saw the blood on the ground and saw her brother (Pelt) walking to the Ford Ranger and leaving the scene quickly. She did mention that the object he had assaulted the victim with was possibly a metal T-post. She believed that she saw him with a post when he was walking to the vehicle.”
Officers found a “significant amount of blood” on the ground, as well as a pair of broken eyeglasses that belonged to the victim.
Pelt was not on the property and had not been heard from since the assault had taken place.
Beaver County Sheriff’s Office dispatch relayed information to the neighboring agencies and sent out at BOLO (Be on the lookout for) on the statewide system.
On Friday morning, UHP troopers in the Richfield area located a white Ford F-150 abandoned on I-70 near mile marker 26. The Utah license plate showed the truck is registered to the suspect’s mother. The vehicle was towed and impounded and officers went to inspect the vehicle, and noticed some dried blood on the driver side of the bed of the truck.
Two UHP troopers then made contact with Pelt at a trailer park in Richfield. One of the troopers had a previous encounter with Pelt and was able to locate the residence he may have been at. When they knocked on the door, he answered and was taken into custody.
Pelt was transported to the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office for an interview. After being read his Miranda rights, during the course of the interview, Pelt stated several times that he was agitated with his brother-in-law because of the way the brother-in-law “belittles him and picks on him,” the statement said.
Pelt stated that on the night previous, the two got into an argument about driving, the statement said. When they arrived back at the residence in Greenville, the two continued arguing. Pelt stated that his brother-in-law attempted to hit him at that time, but missed. He stated that the brother-in-law then got out of the passenger side of the truck. Pelt stated he put the vehicle in reverse at that time and backed up. He stated the open door hit the brother-in-law and knocked him to the ground.
Pelt then described getting out of the vehicle and grabbing a metal T-post off the ground and hitting the brother-in-law with it four or five times.
The suspect stated that after striking the brother-in-law with the post, he threw the post into the yard near where the truck was parked and left. Pelt stated he took back roads up to the Cove Fort area and then got onto I-70 to head towards Richfield. He stated he ran the truck out of oil from damage he caused after hitting a rock on the back roads.
Pelt said he and his brother-in-law have been in other altercations, including one in 2014 where Pelt was knocked unconscious by a blow from his brother-in-law and was taken to the hospital.
The suspect was transported to Beaver County Jail with his bail set at $50,000.
