OGDEN, Utah, April 25, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A bus rider in Ogden was booked into the Weber County Jail after police say he attacked the driver with a knife, threatened and pushed passengers, then fled and hid under a nearby trailer, where he curled into a fetal position.
The suspect, 27-year-old Trent Eldon Ellsworth, was booked on two counts of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony; and two counts of assault, a class B misdemeanor.
Utah Transit Authority police were called to the scene at 6:19 p.m. Sunday, and responded to the area of 36th Street and Washington Boulevard.
“According to the bus operator, the passenger was acting very strange,” a probable cause statement says. “When the bus came to 36th Washington Street in Ogden, the suspect attacked the operator, and appeared to be unprovoked. The bus driver was struck with a knife that the suspect had in his hand.”
The suspect also made knife-slashing motions toward a passenger attempting to help the driver. Witnesses said the suspect also pushed a female passenger and her husband. The suspect then fled, the statement indicates.
The suspect left his backpack and its contents, and officials found his name on a prescription bottle. Officers were alerted by a person on the scene to a man hiding under an enclosed trailer about 100 yards from the bus.
Police responded, and found a man curled up, mumbling to himself, the statement says.
“I attempted to get his attention, and called out to him several times with no response,” the reporting officer wrote. “At this time, we elected to go hands on with this person, who appeared to be ignoring us as his eyes were closed.”
Officers grabbed the man by the arms and pulled him out from under the trailer, the statement says.
“The male then came to, and began yelling and screaming ‘What the fuck, they are shooting at me.'”
Asked his name, the man replied “Trent.” The man resisted arrest, and tried to drop and fall back into a fetal position, the statement says. The man kept mumbling, and making statements including “This is not real.”
Fresh blood was found on Ellsworth’s pants, and a glass pipe was located in his front right pocket, the statement says. An open butterfly knife was found under the trailer.
After the suspect was handcuffed, he was transported to McKay-Dee Hospital to be evaluated for a narcotics overdose or psychotic episode. After being treated, Ellsworth was booked into jail, the probable cause statement says.
