WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, July 29, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — Police responded to what they first thought was a fight at Valley Fair Mall on Saturday afternoon, only to find that an employee had been stabbed in an apparently unprovoked attack.
Booked for aggravated assault and riot with bodily injury in connection with the stabbing are Kyler Cozad, 20; Stratford Jones, 18; and Shawn Begay, 20.
West Valley City Police Sgt. Robert Brinton said the incident happened at about 4:54 p.m. while the employee was handing out samples in the busy food court.
The victim was transported to Intermountain Medical Center, where he was in critical but stable condition with multiple stab wounds in his side and back. Brinton said he underwent surgery later Saturday night and is expected to recover.
Witnesses told police the stabbing seemed to happen without provocation. No one was aware of an argument or altercation preceding the attack.
Brinton said police later learned that the employee had been holding a tray of samples and the three suspects wanted the entire tray. When the employee refused to turn over the whole tray, Brinton said, the suspects attacked him, stabbing him multiple times.
Th suspects fled on foot into a nearby apartment complex, where they were tracked down and arrested.
Brinton said the three men in custody are the only suspects, and they all have gang ties. They were being interviewed at police headquarters Saturday evening and have since been booked into jail.
