SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 14, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — The Salt Lake City Police Department arrested a man suspected of unlawfully entering a business, stealing merchandise and threatening officers with an axe.
This investigation began at 5:03 a.m. Monday when dispatch received a report of a man who had broken into a Smith’s at 455 S. 500 East. The store had not yet opened for the day.
When confronted by a store employee, the man, who was holding an axe, ran away, a statement from the Salt Lake City Police Department says.
The suspect was later identified as 36-year-old William Montero. His probable cause statement says he had entered the store by prying open the doors to the garden center area.
Officers arrived and located Montero running north toward a Burger King across 400 South. Officers yelled for the suspect to stop, but he initially continued running.
“A/P (arrested person) then turned around and raised the axe above his head making threatening gestures at the four officers while back tracking,” his probable cause statement says. “A/P was Tased and taken into custody. A/P gave two different names and date of births to actual persons on our record. A/P was a convicted felon and possessed a weapon (axe). Among A/P’s personal belongings there was an older crowbar, which is commonly used for burglary.”
Montero was booked in the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on initial charges of:
- Aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony
- Four counts of assault against a peace officer/military with weapon or force, a second-degree felony
- Theft, value of $500-$1,500, a third-degree felony
- Two counts of false personal info with intent to be another actual person, a class A misdemeanor
- Possession of a dangerous weapon by restricted person, a class A misdemeanor
- Obstruction of justice, a class A misdemeanor
- Criminal mischief, a class B misdemeanor
- Manufacture/possession of burglary tools, a class B misdemeanor
- Interference with a peace officer, a class B misdemeanor
Montero is being held without bail.
