CACHE COUNTY, Utah, Dec. 24, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A Newton man is facing 23 charges, 16 of them felonies, after a SWAT response to his residence on Monday.
Stuart Martin, 25, allegedly threatened to kill himself, then fired a round inside his residence, and threatened to kill his wife and any officers who approached the house.
Martin has been booked on suspicion of:
- Kidnapping, a second-degree felony
- Aggravated assault, a third-degree felony
- Fourteen counts of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony
- Two counts of discharge of a firearm, a class B misdemeanor
- Two counts of threat of violence, a class B misdemeanor
- Possession of a controlled substance, a class B misdemeanor
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
- Intoxication, a class C misdemeanor
A probable cause statement filed by a Cache County Sheriff’s official says that Martin was drinking vodka and making suicide threats on Monday, and his wife was attempting to “talk him down.” He retrieved a handgun from another room and again threatened suicide, the statement says.
“As the victim attempted to calm him down, he screamed ‘You think I am not serious’ and pointed the gun across the room and discharged a round into the floor of the home,” the statement says. “As she continued to talk with him, he became more agitated and then threatened to kill her, and then pointed the gun at her head. From there he took her out to the garage where he grabbed a second handgun and continued to threaten to commit suicide. They then went back into the home where he attempted to get into the gun safe that was in their bedroom.”
Martin was unable to open the safe, and fired a round at it, the statement says.
Husband and wife “… both went back outside where the argument continued, while in the backyard he threatened to kill her again and pointed a gun at her head a second time. At one point during this argument he pointed both handguns at her head and again threatened to kill her.
“Then he told her she had three hours to get her chores in the garage taken care of or he would kill her then if she didn’t get her chores done on time.”
The statement also says Martin threatened that if she called anyone else, he would kill her.
“At one point a relative had called her and she told them to stay away from the house because she was afraid that he would shoot anyone that came to the home,” the statement says. “She also told the relative that she was afraid for her life. That relative called dispatch and informed them of the situation. When Stuart Martin learned that law enforcement had been notified, he threatened to kill anyone that approached the home and that he had the means to do it.”
Martin again attempted to open the gun safe, hauling it to the garage and using a grinder on it, since his earlier shot had destroyed the locking keypad.
“While he was working getting into the safe, the victim was able to go back into the home and then negotiators were able to make contact with her and talked her into leaving the home. She was able to jump out of the bedroom window and run away from the home.
“In a later interview the victim stated that she was afraid for her life and didn’t dare leave for fear that he would kill her.”
Martin was contacted by phone.
“He refused to come out of the home and threatened to shoot anyone he saw,” the probable cause statement says. “He told the negotiator several times that he would shoot anyone that he saw, including law enforcement officers, and that he had the means to do so. On several occasions, he described where he saw officers and made numerous attempts to get them to show themselves.”
Martin eventually came out of the house and surrendered. The victim gave consent for the house to be searched, and two loaded handguns were found, one in the bedroom and one in a back room.
“Also in the bedroom, officers located two AR15 rifles, both fully loaded with 30 round magazines, and one 12 gauge shotgun, loaded with slugs,” the statement says. “The windows near the guns provided an easy view of the street and surrounding area. Upon inspection of the garage a gun safe was located with the top of the safe cut open and folded back allowing access to the interior of the safe, nine long guns were located in or near the safe.”
Marijuana and drug paraphernalia also were found in the gun safe. A large amount of ammunition was found in various areas of the home.
The arresting officer suggested Martin be held without bail because of threats to kill his wife, placing a gun against her head multiple times, threats made to officers, and the fact that he had placed five weapons around his home in positions to shoot anyone approaching from various directions. A total of 14 guns were found, as was a large cache of ammunition, the report noted.
Martin’s bail was set at $88,520.
