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SALT LAKE CITY -- An armed man took a woman hostage Friday night at the All Star Travel Motor Hotels at 754 W. North Temple.
Police believe the man is suspected in a recent bank robbery.
Police, SWAT teams and FBI officials had a section of North Temple completely blocked off as they attempted to diffuse the hostage situation, which began around 8:30 p.m. Friday.
"They just said that they had an arrest warrant for him, he was holding a hostage, so that's when it got kind of hairy. They're over there now," said Joe Esquivel, manager of the All Star Travel Motor Hotels .
Police evacuated that motel and several surrounding businesses, including the Red Iguana restaurant next door. Officials said they were concerned that if the man fired his gun, bullets could go through walls and into neighboring businesses.
"They told me to evacuate the desk, and they're going through all the rooms to make sure nobody's there," Esquivel said. "They told me to evacuate the office area, make sure there's no bullets going through, make sure everybody's okay."
Police believe the gunman is Joe Dee Stang, who escaped from a work-release program in early July and is being sought in connection with Thursday's robbery of a Salt Lake City Zions Bank branch. Authorities have known Stang was armed and possibly in the area.
Some individuals who were evacuated from the motel said they got a sudden knock on the door followed by police telling them to immediately leave the area. One woman saw an officer with a gun behind a car as she was being evacuated.
Police didn't know exactly when they would allow the people back inside the motel and surrounding businesses. Until that time, officers provided them with water and a place to wait the situation out.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
