OGDEN, Utah, Oct. 27, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A 46-year-old Ogden man is being held without bail after an incident involving missing children alleged to be at the man’s apartment, a police officer trying to avoid a possible attack by neighbor dogs, and a shotgun the man refused to drop when ordered.
The incident began Saturday when a mother contacted Ogden City Police about “multiple missing juveniles” she believed might be at the residence of Ioane Monroe Unutoa.
Police went to Unutoa’s apartment, at 110 Jefferson Ave., and made contact with a juvenile at the front door, and also saw Unutoa, arrest documents say.
“As I was standing on the front porch, two large dogs emerged from an adjoining apartment and began quickly approaching me,” the OCPD officer’s statement says. “In fear the dogs would attack me, I stepped inside the residence just enough to close the front door and separate myself from the dogs.
“Ioane quickly approached me and began telling me to ‘Get the f*** out.’ I explained to Ioane why I stepped in and tried to apologize but he continued being verbally hostile telling me to ‘Get the f*** out of his house.’
“I exited the home and Ioane slammed the front door behind me.”
The officer wrote that he tried to talk to Unutoa through an open front window “and explained my reason for being there, but he continued to be confrontational and slammed the window shut.”
A second officer arrived as support, and the two went to the building’s parking lot “to discuss our next steps for locating the missing juveniles,” Unutoa’s affidavit says. “I was speaking to the officer for approximately a minute in the parking lot when I looked back at the front window of Ioane’s apartment. I observed Ioane standing in the window, holding a rifle while looking in the direction of officers.”
The assisting officer also saw Unutoa with the rifle, the statement says.
“I called out to Ioane to drop the gun, but he ignored this command and continued to linger at the window, looking around for approximately 20-30 seconds. Ioane then closed the drapes over the window and officers lost sight of him.”
Officers ran a records check, and determined Unutoa had previously been convicted of aggravated assault in Utah, making him a restricted person barred from possession of a dangerous weapon. A search warrant was drafted and approved.
“The warrant was executed, and four firearms were seized in Ioane’s bedroom,” the affidavit says. “Ammunition and firearm accessories were also seized. A green leafy substance was located, which based on my training and experience I identified as marijuana. Small dried mushrooms were also located in a glass jar, which through my training and experience I identified as psilocybin mushrooms. Drug paraphernalia was also located.
“All of the illegal drugs were located in unlocked containers, where both children in the home could access them.”
The statement does not clarify whether the children at the residence were the ones the original caller was looking for.
Unutoa was arrested for investigation of:
- Four counts of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a second-degree felony
- Two counts of endangerment of a child or vulnerable adult, a third-degree felony
- Possession of a controlled substances, schedule I/II/analog, a class A misdemeanor
- Possession of controlled substances marijuana/spice, a class B misdemeanor
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
Unutoa was booked into the Weber County jail system.
