SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 22, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — A 37-year-old man was arrested Saturday for the alleged kidnapping and assault of his female roommate.
Salt Lake City police were called to the 7-Eleven at 1692 W. North Temple on a report of a possible abduction. The caller said he had given a female friend a ride to the convenience store to buy a drink, and a minivan had pulled up behind his vehicle, blocking him from leaving.
The minivan driver, later identified as 37-year-old Joshua James Morris, then exited the vehicle and pounded on the driver’s/complainant’s window, then walked to the front passenger door and pounded on the window before opening that door.
Morris then grabbed the female passenger’s arm and pulled her from the vehicle and into the minivan, the complainant said.
The complainant said the female “had been texting him today, and that she was afraid of (Morris),” and that he has been physically abusing her, Morris’ arrest document says. The reporting party showed the officer the texts, the statement says.
Officers pinged the woman’s phone and located her in the emergency department of Intermountain Medical Center in Murray. The woman was able to point out Morris’ car in the parking lot. He resisted, but officers were able to cuff him, arrest documents say.
The woman said she had been living with Morris in a consensual relationship for about six months, but that he has repeatedly refused to allow her to leave the house without him present. The woman said Morris’ restrictions had forced her to miss parole appointments, resulting in arrest warrants.
She said Morris grabbed and hit her anytime she tried to leave, locked the garage area where they live from the outside, and turned off Wi-Fi so her phone could not call out, the arrest document says.
The woman also said Morris routinely drugged her to put her to sleep when he was leaving. A tool box in the garage contained a large number of syringes, a substance that tested positive for meth, suspected fentanyl, and a pill bottle labeled Trazodone.
A records check also revealed to officers that Morris had a previous kidnapping case, which was dismissed, out of Colorado, the affidavit says.
Morris was arrested for investigation of alleged:
- Kidnapping, a second-degree felony
- Aggravated assault, a third-degree felony
- Two counts of possession of a controlled substance Schedule I/II/analog, a class A misdemeanor
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
- Interfering with a peace officer, a class B misdemeanor
Morris was ordered held without bail.
