PLEASANT GROVE, Utah, Sept. 11, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — A suspect was jailed Sunday after he was found in a bloody garage with a woman who had suffered severe head trauma.
Pleasant Grove police were alerted by dispatch operators who heard screaming on a phone line which had been intentionally left open once the call was made.
“Dispatch advised us that a female was screaming for help and it sounded as though another person was hitting her,” says a probable cause statement filed just before 4 a.m. Sunday.
“Dispatch also said they could hear an argument and a struggle. The female mentioned that the male subject has a wrench, and that ‘he is trying to kill me.'”
Police arrived and saw two people on a garage floor, says arresting documents filed for 61-year-old suspect Ronald Lynn Pace.
“There was a large amount of blood on the ground and behind the female victim who was leaning up against a counter top,” the officer’s statement says. “I saw a pair of vice grips covered in blood near the male.”
Pace “had blood all over him, and was taken into custody,” the statement says. “He was secured in the back of a patrol vehicle. We checked the female and saw that she had severe injuries to her head and that was the source of all the blood.”
The victim was transported to intensive care “with severe head trauma and a brain bleed,” the probable cause statement says. “Looking at the blood in the area I was able to see what appeared to be high velocity blood spatter. Based on my experience and training this type of spatter comes from someone being struck with an object and the blood droplets flying off of their body or blood flying off of the object used to hit them.”
A records search revealed the victim had a protective order granted against Pace.
The police report says the victim called 911 and left the line open as Pace arrived.
“Ron discovered the phone after hitting the female multiple times and threw it on the ground in an attempt to destroy the phone and end the call,” the probable cause statement says.
“While sitting in the rear of a patrol vehicle after being taken into custody, Ron stated openly without being questioned that he was going to kill her.”
After being medically cleared, Pace was booked into the Utah County jail on suspicion of:
- Murder (attempted), a first-degree felony
- Violation of a protective order, a third-degree felony
- Criminal mischief, a class B misdemeanor
- Damage/interruption communication device, a class B misdemeanor
- Intoxication, a class C misdemeanor
Pace was ordered held without bail.
