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SALT LAKE CITY -- What was thought to be a hostage situation at a Salt Lake City hotel has ended peacefully with a suspect in custody.
Just after 11 a.m. Saturday, SWAT officers forced their way into the room at the All Star Travel Motor Hotels at 754 W. North Temple where Joe Dee Stang had barricaded himself around 8:30 Friday night.
"They were able to search within the hotel and actually tracked him down in an attic space," said Sgt. Robin Snyder, with the Salt Lake City Police Department. "They confronted him at that point and were able to take him into custody."
Stang claimed he had been holding a woman hostage, but there was no one in the room with him when officers took him into custody. Police now say they don't believe he ever had a hostage.
"We thought this was a hostage situation and thankfully it wasn't," said Snyder. "It's better to over plan than under plan."
Stang escaped from a work-release program in early July and was being sought in connection with Thursday's robbery of a Salt Lake City Zions Bank branch. A tip led officers to the hotel where the standoff took place.
For hours, negotiators spoke to Stang on the motel phone, until he cut off communication in the middle of the night. Police brought a tank, loudspeakers and tried to drop a phone in through the bathroom window, but discovered it had been barricaded.
We thought this was a hostage situation and thankfully it wasn't. It's better to over plan than under plan.
–Sgt. Robin Snyder
Police, SWAT teams and FBI officials had a section of North Temple completely blocked off as they dealt with the situation. During the 15-hour standoff, police evacuated close to 50 people from the motel and more from several surrounding businesses, including the Red Iguana restaurant next door.
"I just kept praying that they'd hurry up and catch that guy so we could go home," said Tina Cichy, a motel guest. "I haven't had any sleep so it's been really rough."
The guests stayed in a bus provided by UTA and at an LDS Church meetinghouse nearby. Mark Matthews was one of those guests. He says he would have liked to stay at another motel to get a full night's rest, but it just wasn't possible.
"A lot of us are strapped," Matthews said. "This is hard times, everyone is falling on them. Well, we fell on them even harder."
All motel guests were able to return to their rooms by noon Saturday.
After he was taken into custody, Stang was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for possible dehydration. Police say he will be booked into jail on aggravated robbery charges under a federal warrant. More charges are pending.
Police don't have an exact dollar figure for the standoff operation but say it was costly. About 30 officers from Salt Lake City responded, 35 came from Unified police, and more came from a handful of agencies across the valley.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
