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TAYLORSVILLE -- A Taylorsville neighborhood became the center of attention Wednesday morning when a fugitive hid from police.
Police say 29-year-old Carlos Rangel is a suspected gang member wanted on several warrants. Wednesday morning they tracked him to the home of a relative in Taylorsville in the 3400 block of Valley Heights Drive (about 4500 South), but when they went to the door, almost everyone inside said he wasn't there. Only one person was willing to tell the truth.
A 2-year-old child in the house was the one who gave Rangel up to police when they went knocking this morning. We spoke with neighbors about how it all went down, and all they could say was however it happened, it took a lot of law enforcement to track him down.
Neighbor Robyn Carlson said, "I looked out the window, and the street was blocked off from here to way over there, and just full of cops."
Carlson and her neighbors woke up to find themselves in the middle of an all-out search for Rangel, a fugitive wanted for aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary.
"The weirdest part was when they started searching my back yard. That was freaking me out a little bit," Carlson said.
Carlson lives next door to the house where Rangel was found hiding. Police dogs tracked him there after he led law enforcement on a short chase.
Brett Miller, with the Taylorsville Police Department, said, "It ended up being a sister's home, right around the corner."
Law enforcement made contact with those living in the house, but it was toddler who gave Rangel up.
"Two-year-old told us Carlos was in there, the parents told us it was a different Carlos, but kids don't lie," Miller said.
Law enforcement entered the home with a mask and gloves after they were informed one of the people inside may have contracted the swine flu. They then arrested Rangel after he was found hiding under a bed in one of the back bedroom.
Police say due to Rangel's serious criminal history and the fact that he is a suspected gang member, they took all precautions necessary and even used a helicopter to track him at one point.
He is now behind bars in the Salt Lake County Jail.
E-mail: spark@ksl.com
