WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, June 21, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A West Valley City man has been booked on 15 felony charges after police say he invited six missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into his trailer home, then held them at gunpoint and told them they could not leave.
The missionaries reportedly arrived at about 8 p.m. Thursday, and found the resident — initially identified as 44-year-old Paul Gutierrez Marquez — armed and acting erratically. About an hour later, the missionaries were able to talk the man into letting them leave.
The man’s name was later revealed to be an alias. The suspect’s actual name is Alfredo Paul Herrera, Sgt. Kevin Hunter, Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office, told Gephardt Daily.
The missionaries reported the suspect to West Valley City Police. Officers responded to the residence, at Windsor Estates mobile home park, 2800 Hampton Park Drive.
Herrera/Marquez has been booked into the Salt Lake County Jail system on suspicion of:
- Six counts of aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony
- Six counts of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony
- Three counts of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person
A probable cause statement, initially filed under Herrera’s alias by an officer of the West Valley City Police Department, offers details:
“The AP (accused person) allowed six male victims into the residence to talk about the word of God,” the statement says. The men were missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“The AP showed the six male victims the firearm making the victims feel very uneasy and not free to leave. The victims explained they were trying to leave after the first 10 mins of being in the residence.”
Herrera had three guns, the statement said.
“The AP made several threats that they could not leave and waved the firearm at the six victims, keeping them at the residence for over an hour. The victims told me the AP was drinking and waving the firearm at them and would point the firearm at individuals if he did not like what they were talking about.”
When officers arrived, they questioned Herrera.
“The AP said he did pull his firearm out to show the victims. The firearm the AP said was in the couch and it was located there the firearm had the APs name written on the mag. The AP also said it was his.”
Herrera was booked into jail at 3:12 a.m. on Friday. His bail was set at $125,000.
