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SANDY — Police have arrested a man who they say held a former roommate hostage for more than an hour while beating her, leaving her bloodied and with a broken tooth.
Tomas Staskus, 44, of Midvale, was arrested over the weekend for investigation of kidnapping, aggravated assault and criminal mischief.
On Nov. 27, a former roommate went to Staskus' residence to retrieve some personal items, according to a Salt Lake County Jail report.
"When the victim arrived she saw that Tomas was intoxicated and said that she wanted to leave," the report states.
That's when Staskus grabbed her and "for over an hour" she was "strangled to the point that she could not breathe … and thought that she was going to die," the report says. Police wrote that Staskus "slapped, hit and kicked on her face and body" to the point a tooth was broken, and she had swelling and bruising on her torso, legs and arms.
The woman was eventually able to flee the house. Investigators found blood evidence in several places throughout the residence, according to the report.
