Man charged after holding girlfriend's father hostage for 5 hours

Man charged after holding girlfriend's father hostage for 5 hours

(Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office)


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WEST VALLEY CITY — A man who police say held his girlfriend's father hostage for more than five hours earlier this week was charged Thursday in two separate cases.

Oscar Darwin Alcantara, 23, of West Valley City, was charged in one case with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of children, a class A misdemeanor. He was charged in the other case with aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony; possession of a weapon by a restricted person and obstructing justice, second-degree felonies; and aggravated assault, a third-degree felony. All charges were filed in 3rd District Court. Bail was set at $250,000.

On July 26, Alcantara demanded that the mother of his children loan him her Jeep, according to court records. She refused. But when Alcantara took the keys after threatening her, she got into the Jeep and refused to get out, according to charging documents.

"The defendant grabbed her by the hair and pulled her out," the charges state. "The defendant threw (the woman) to the ground and got into the driver's seat."

On Monday, the girlfriend called her father to pick her and her children up and take them to his house, according to police. After they got into the car, Alcantara jumped into the car, too, and asked to go with them.

After the mother and children were dropped off, Alcantara asked the father to drive him back. After they got to the home that Alcantara and the woman shared, 7114 W. Palomino Drive (2800 South), Alcantara pointed a gun at the father and told him to go into the house or he would kill him, the charges state.

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When Alcantara got out of the car and opened the father's door, the father attempted to grab the gun, according to the charges. A struggle ensued and the gun fell to the ground. When it hit the ground, a shot was fired, hitting the mirror of the car.

Alcantara then picked the gun back up and again allegedly threatened to kill the father if he did not go into the house.

The girlfriend called police and by 8:30 a.m. a SWAT team had surrounded Alcantara's house. Hostage negotiators were able to make contact with the father on a cellphone. He told police he "had a gun pointed at his head. The phone then disconnected," according to charging documents.

After more than five hours of negotiations, the father was allowed to walk out of the house unharmed. About 15 minutes later, Alcantara surrendered. Detectives who later searched the house found a gun hidden "so far down" a heating vent that "the floor had to be cut in order to recover it," according to the charges.

Alcantara has a lengthy criminal history, according to Utah state court records. He was convicted of being a restricted person in possession of a firearm in 2014 and sentenced to the Salt Lake County Jail in August for violating his probation in the case. Alcantara was also convicted of drugs or weapons-related charges in two other cases filed in 2013. He pleaded guilty in May of 2014 to domestic violence related assault, and no contest to a similar charge in 2012.

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Pat Reavy

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