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TAYLORSVILLE — Unified Police Department officers continued to search for a wanted man considered armed and dangerous on Sunday after a SWAT team situation ended without any sign of him.
The SWAT team surrounded a home at 3528 W. Ridgecrest Drive on Saturday night seeking Gustavo Samaniego, 32, of Salt Lake County.
A detective said he saw Samaniego go into the home and police believed he was inside, said Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal.
As officers tried to make contact with Samaniego, neighbors were told to stay in their basements.
“Oh, I was scared as hell, you know. I didn’t know what to do,” said Frankie Marks, who lives next door to the home.
Marks said she and several other neighbors were then told to evacuate.
“All these police officers, all these police officers with their guns drawn, so I knew it was a pretty serious situation. I just didn’t know what it was,” Marks said.
Police had been looking for Samaniego since Saturday afternoon when they say he showed up at his ex-wife’s home in Magna and threatened his 21-year old stepdaughter with a gun.
When officers were called, Samaniego fled.
Authorities had been looking for him in areas where he was known to frequent, and that led them to the home in Taylorsville.
“We know that he’s armed. We know that he has weapons,” Hoyal said.
Neighbors say they heard several flash bangs, as authorities tried to get Samaniego out of the home.
“I was having anxiety. My heart was racing,” said neighbor Zachary Stewart. “The thing I could think of in the back of my head was a shoot off going on, was all I could think was (what's) going to happen next.”
Stewart and his grandmother stayed with friends until they were allowed back in their homes, Sunday morning.
“Still kind of nervous about the man still being at large,” Marks said.
Court records show Samaniego has a criminal history that includes drugs and weapons charges.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts can call Unified Police at 801-743-7000.
