UINTAH COUNTY, Utah, Jan. 8, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Three men were arrested early Sunday morning after police responded to a third-party call about a kidnapping in which the suspect was allegedly threatening people with a gun.
Cody Joseph Alvarez, 25, was booked into jail and is facing multiple first-degree felony charges in the incident that apparently began Saturday night over a missing bandanna.
Also arrested were Kevin Walker, 24, and Dylon Smuin, 19.
According to a probable cause statement filed in Vernal, officers were dispatched on a report of a man who said he was being held hostage at a residence at 99 E. 300 North in Vernal.
Dispatchers told the officers that the victim had messaged someone on Facebook, saying he was being held hostage by a male with a gun. The messages also said to call law enforcement and to “tell them to hurry because he was tripping out.”
Vernal Police Officer Ryan Cannon wrote in the probable cause statement that he and other officers arrived at the home, and when Cannon knocked on the door, the victim stepped outside and told Cannon he was “tripping out due to a large male inside who had a gun.”
Alvarez had come over and allegedly pulled a black pistol with a tactical light out of his backpack, but put it away when the victim asked him to, the statement says.
At some point, Alvarez became upset because his bandanna was missing, and he grabbed the gun and went outside.
Alvarez then came back inside with Walker and Smuin, and allegedly pulled the gun out again, saying that “nobody was leaving until he got his bandanna back.”
Cannon and the other officers went inside with their duty weapons drawn and cleared the residence of several people.
Alvarez was found outside hiding behind a shed, and a backpack was found nearby.
Officers arrested Alvarez for an active statewide warrant. He reportedly denied any knowledge of the backpack and said it wasn’t his.
Dylon Smuin was also arrested for an active statewide warrant, and Kevin Walker was placed under arrest based on an interview with another officer.
The backpack contained two loaded black pistols, one of which had a tactical light. The serial numbers of both pistols had been filed off. Also in the backpack were more magazines for the firearms and a wallet with Alvarez’s identification in it.
A search warrant was obtained for the residence, backpack, people in the residence, and vehicles outside. Items found during the search included a black jacket with a magazine for a .22 caliber pistol; a loaded 9 mm pistol in a case under a hatchet; and a loaded .22 caliber pistol. The pistol had been reported stolen out of West Valley. This pistol’s serial number had been filed off.
Also found was a metal tube in Alvarez’s backpack containing suspected marijuana and methamphetamine, as well as several small unused baggies and more than $100 in cash. A digital scale also was in the backpack.
Alvarez was booked into jail for six counts of Aggravated Kidnapping, Possession
with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, Possession with Intent to Distribute Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of a Dangerous Weapon by a Category II Restricted Person, two counts of Altering a Serial Number on a Pistol, and his statewide warrant.
