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BOUNTIFUL -- A Bountiful man is recovering from a nightmare after he was tied up, choked and robbed in his own home.
Two teens now face kidnapping and aggravated assault charges, and police say it was a document they left at the crime scene that led to their arrest.
The 50-year-old victim was in his home Jan. 7 when police say 19-year-old Garrett Sweat knocked on the door around 8 p.m. When the man answered, Sweat told him they had a mutual acquaintance. Sweat then secretly let his girlfriend, 18-year-old Jordan Thornberg, into the house.
When the homeowner saw the girl, the pair choked him with a shoelace until he lost consciousness and duct taped him to a table. Davis County court records show Sweat and Thornberg went through the home and took items including a cell phone, laptop, jewelry and a debit card.
They held the victim at knifepoint and forced him to write them a check for $1,100. Police say they finally left the home nearly 12 hours after they'd broken in, leaving the homeowner taped to the table.
But the pair didn't get far. The homeowner was able to break free and called police. Officers recovered a jacket at the home. Inside a pocket, they discovered a hospital document with Sweat's name on it. The check was written to Thornberg.
"We didn't know Thornberg's name, and the victim didn't remember it, but it had pressed through several checks," said Bountiful Police Sgt. Dave Edwards. "Even though some of the carbons had been removed, there was one we were able to identify the name."
Bountiful police also recovered Facebook pictures of the suspects on the victim's computer, suggesting they'd used it while holding the man hostage.
Tipsters then led to the arrest of Sweat and Thornberg in West Jordan. The victim suffered bruises from the shoelaces but is expected to make a full recovery.
Sweat has been in trouble with the law before. He stole a van when he was 17 and had violated terms of his probation several times.
He's now being held without bail on four felony charges along with Thornberg, who is being held on $50,000 bail.
