Police investigating man who barricaded himself in motor home on Salt Lake freeway


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SALT LAKE CITY — Police took a man identified as a registered sex offender into custody after troopers say he barricaded himself inside a motor home on I-215 West on Saturday.

Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Jeff Nigbur said troopers are considering the incident suspicious and are conducting an investigation into witness reports that the man could have had several female passengers with him.

Nigbur said troopers received a call at roughly 2:30 from a tow truck driver, who had initially arrived at the scene on I-215 near California Avenue to haul the broken down RV away, but called police when he noticed several young women in the RV with three other males.

"He called our dispatch and said, 'Hey, this looks a little suspicious. It didn't seem right; something seemed funny,'" Nigbur said.

Troopers arrived on scene about 20 minutes after the call, Nigbur said, but when they approached the motor home, the driver refused to let them in.

"The only thing he would do is prop open a window or crack the door," he said. "Our supervisor asked if he could come in and talk to him, but at that particular time he noticed the driver had a knife in his hand as he was propping the door open."

Troopers were then on high alert and called a SWAT team to the scene, Nigbur said, concerned about the safety of the reported female passengers.

"Once he saw all the police vehicles and the swat personnel, he came out," Nigbur reported, but when police searched the RV, no other passengers were found.

He said it appears the passengers could have left the scene at some point between the tow truck driver's call to police and the time troopers arrived on scene.

"We're not sure if they got picked up by another vehicle, or if they walked off to the next exit," Nigbur said. "We're not sure where they went. That's part of the investigation right now."

Nigbur was not able to tell reporters if the young women were described as minors or adults. He said officers will be interviewing the driver as part of the investigation.

"One of our biggest concerns is he was a registered sex offender," Nigbur said. "We want to talk to him and find out exactly who these individuals are. We don't know if they're being held against their will. ... That was our biggest concern out of this whole ordeal."

Nigbur said the RV, which was unregistered, was impounded. He said the driver could be facing charges or a citation, but that will depend on the results of the investigation.

"Whether he goes to jail, I can't tell you at this point," he said. "We still have to talk to him."

Contributing: Sandra Yi

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