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GRANTSVILLE -- A man who reportedly escaped an execution style shooting after being kidnapped was being targeted for allegedly being a snitch, according to police records.
In a dramatic scenario, a man in his late 20s was kidnapped from a Midvale motel Friday and taken to a remote area of Grantsville where he was to be shot, according to Grantsville police.
The man was taken to the end of a street near 848 North Cooley, told to exit the vehicle, walk toward a wood fence and look away from a man holding a gun, according to a jail booking report.
Using a small caliber handgun, a member of the group pulled the trigger, but the gun misfired. Seeing it as an opportunity to run, the man hopped the fence, but reportedly suffered a broken ankle. He continued running through a snowy field toward the main road, according to police reports, and heard what sounded like four shots being fired at him. The man was not struck.
The man reached the road first, but was then almost run-over by one of the suspect vehicles, the jail report states. The vehicle got stuck in the snow. The man managed to get away and run into a nearby house.
The victim told police he was "to be killed for his testimony in the Troy Turnbow case in Cottonwood Heights," according to a booking report from the Tooele County Jail.
Monday, Michelle Gallegos, 33, was arrested by Cottonwood Heights police and turned over to the Grantsville authorities, who booked her into the Tooele County Jail.
Cottonwood Heights police said Wednesday they had already been looking for Gallegos on another case and ended up taking her into custody for Grantsville.
"Because she had some warrants and possession of controlled substance and stolen checks she was arrested on those charges," said Sgt. Mark Askerlund with the Cottonwood Heights Police Department. "Now she currently sits in the Tooele County Jail charged with aggravated kidnapping and attempted criminal homicide."
In October, Turnbow, 30, was booked into jail for investigation of attempted murder after police say he tried to run over an officer and was found operating a chop shop.
Turnbow had led a Cottonwood Heights police officer on a short pursuit on Oct. 10. The officer found the vehicle a short time later stopped in the street at 7165 Hatley View Circle. The vehicle appeared to be abandoned.
The officer got out of his car, but as he approached the suspect's vehicle, the driver popped up from hiding in the front seat and drove at the officer. The officer fired seven shots, all striking the windshield but none hitting Turnbow, before he was struck by the car and rolled off the hood.
The officer suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Three days later, police found Turnbow and arrested him. In the process, they also found a chop shop near 277 W. 7500 South and Gallegos, who was also arrested. Gallegos and Turnbow were charged together in 3rd District Court on Sept. 23 with burglary of a vehicle and theft.
According to Grantsville jail records, Gallegos, Jamie L. Turnbow and three other men were identified by the victim as the people responsible for the kidnapping and attempted murder over the weekend.
"It's my understanding that all these individuals -- including Turnbow, who is incarcerated -- and Miss Gallegos and the other individuals are all related in some matter. I don't know exactly what the relationships are to each other," Askerlund said.
Troy Turnbow has an extensive criminal record, with cops from many jurisdictions saying they recall dealing with him, even when he was a juvenile. He has been in the Salt Lake County Jail since Oct. 13. An arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 31.
Gallegos was scheduled to have a pretrial conference on Jan. 24 on multiple charges of burglary of a vehicle and theft.
Grantsville police said they were looking Wednesday for five more people involved in the weekend kidnapping and attempted homicide, as well as a silver Chevy Malibu or white Topaz.
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Story compiled with contributions from Pat Reavy, Anne Forester and Mark Giauque.
