SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, May 22, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — A man is facing a second-degree felony robbery charge after allegedly jumping into a stranger’s Tesla and demanding to be driven away from supposed “snipers,” according to court documents.
Salt Lake City police told Gephardt Daily, officers responded around 10:10 p.m. on May 21 to what was originally reported as a possible carjacking near 700 South Main Street.
The caller, a 42-year-old man, told police he had just pulled out of a parking lot when a man — later identified as Exause Mpaka, 23 — ran up and entered the back seat of his car before he could lock the doors.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed in Third District Court, Mpaka told the driver that people were "coming to kill him" and demanded to be driven away. The victim complied out of fear, later telling police he believed someone "would shoot him in the back of the head" if he didn’t do as Mpaka said.
While driving east on 600 South, the victim called 911. Officers performed a "high-risk stop" near 465 South 700 East, where Mpaka was taken into custody without incident.
The victim told officers that during the drive, Mpaka repeatedly asked if “they were still after them,” though the victim never saw anyone following them.
Mpaka was arrested at the scene, searched, and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.
Gephardt Daily will update the story as more information becomes available.
