Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WHITE CITY — Unified police were retracing the steps Monday of a man who detectives say went on a rampage early Sunday against his former business partner and apparently many of his clients.
Philip G. Deluca, 33, of Taylorsville, was arrested for investigation of aggravated burglary and aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
Deluca's alleged path of destruction started about 1:20 a.m. in the 900 block of Silica Drive in White City. Deluca is accused of using his Chevy Duramax truck to back into two cars parked in the driveway, causing heavy damage to both, before ramming the front porch, said Unified Police Lt. Lex Bell.
The impact from the collision with the porch caused the porch to be pushed through the brick exterior of the home and pushed a couch that a young child was sleeping on into the center of the living room, Bell said. The child was not seriously injured.
From there, Bell said Deluca went to an address near 9600 S. Poppy Lane and rammed a Lexus parked in the driveway. That was followed by using his truck to knock down a tree in the yard of a home near 1100 E. Galena Drive, he said.
Investigators believe Deluca then went to the Cottonwood Heights area where he rammed one building under construction before going to the Unified Police Department's substation at 7480 S. 2700 East.
There, Deluca used his truck to destroy two traffic trailers parked outside, used for telling motorists how fast they're going, Bell said. The driver then attempted to back into the corner of the substation. Bell said the building suffered about $100,000 damage and one of the garage doors can no longer roll up. He noted that if not for a concrete pillar in front of the building, the damage could have been much worse.
Investigators believe Deluca's truck either stopped running due to the damage it sustained or he abandoned it. It was found by Utah Highway Patrol troopers on I-215.
With the exception of the police substation, detectives believe all the victims to that point were tied to Deluca's ex-longtime business partner whom he had had a bad falling out with in recent weeks, Bell said. Investigators believe Deluca and his partner may have been in a landscaping business and he targeted clients or people he had done work for. Deluca's truck had landscaping tools in it that kept falling off at each crime scene, as well as branches and clippings that were in the truck bed.
By 3:30 a.m., Deluca made his way to the Millcreek home of his former business partner, forced his way inside and started beating his partner while he was still in bed, according to Bell.
The partner said he "was awoken by a crushing pain to the right side of his head," according to a Salt Lake County Jail report, and saw Deluca "swinging a crutch at him."
The man's wife and daughters were awakened by the noise and attempted to help their father, the report states. They were able to restrain Deluca until police arrived. Both Deluca and his former business partner were treated for facial injuries at a local hospital. The partner suffered several facial fractures and was admitted to the intensive care unit, the report states.
Detectives believe Deluca has also been vandalizing his ex-partner's projects over the past few weeks, Bell said. Some of his work vehicles were vandalized May 15, the report states. A dead rabbit was also placed on the front porch of his former partner on May 22.
According to court records, Deluca was convicted of attempted aggravated assault in 2013 and ordered to complete a mental health treatment program as part of his probation. In that case, Deluca reportedly "snapped" and rammed his truck into the back of another vehicle, pushing it through an intersection and into a light pole.
