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SALT LAKE CITY — A man admitted Tuesday to his role in the brutal assault and kidnapping of a woman and will potentially spend the next 40 years in prison.
Jeffrey R. Hanson, 35, of Taylorsville, pleaded guilty to kidnapping, a second-degree felony, and aggravated assault, a second-degree felony. As part of a deal plea deal, a third charge of aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury was dropped.
Hanson was immediately sentenced to two consecutive terms of two to 20 years at the Utah State Prison, meaning the time for one sentence won't start until the first sentence is completed.
On Feb. 29, 2016, Hanson and Eliese Tupou Olive, 33, of Salt Lake City, were smoking heroin with a 19-year-old woman in Hanson's Taylorsville home.
At some point, police say the woman asked Olive if she could use his tablet computer. He said no and she went downstairs. Olive followed her downstairs and started punching her in the face while Hanson watched, the charges state.
The woman asked Hanson for help, but Olive told her to shut up, police say. Hanson and Olive tied the woman up using tape and zip ties, shoved articles of clothing into her mouth and secured it with more tape, and then punched and beat the woman with pool cues, according to charging documents.
Related:
Attempted murder charges filed in Taylorsville kidnapping, stabbing
Attempted murder charges were filed Thursday against two men who remain at large after allegedly beating, tying up and stabbing a Taylorsville woman this week.In a sentencing memorandum submitted to the court, Hanson's attorney, Steve Burton, said his client tried to help the woman the best he could under the circumstances and that the woman had modified her account of that night after the original charging documents were filed.
Hanson only loosely held the woman and purposely retrieved painter's tape instead of duct tape when securing her, Burton's memorandum states. Hanson said it was his fear of also being harmed by Olive that caused him to partially assist.
The woman freed herself after finding a knife on the floor. But as she attempted to leave, Hanson grabbed and held her while Olive stabbed her in the stomach multiple times, the charges state. Both men then resumed punching her in the face before forcing her back into the basement, according to police. The woman eventually escaped by crawling through a window.
Hanson was arrested several days later. Olive was caught in Las Vegas by the U.S. Marshals Service and extradited back to Utah.
"Mr. Hanson knows that by not wanting to get hurt or draw aggression toward himself, he ultimately sided with and assisted (Olive) in hurting (the woman) and preventing her from escaping. For this he is genuinely sorrowful," the memorandum states.
Olive pleaded guilty last year to aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony, in exchange for an attempted murder charge being dismissed. He was sentenced to 10 years to life at the Utah State Prison.
