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SALT LAKE CITY — A man who police say kidnapped, beat and robbed a man, and then took the victim to his house where his brother chased him away with a knife, was charged Tuesday.
John Michael Riley Jr., 34, of West Valley City, was charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary, all first-degree felonies. He was also charged with two counts of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony.
On May 17, Riley approached a 63-year-old man who was visiting his storage unit, according to charging documents. The victim later told police he believed Riley was living in one of the other units.
Riley was "speaking nonsense … asked how many people he had killed, punched him in the face and pushed him to the ground," according to the charges. He then took the man's wallet and, while armed with a baseball bat, Riley prevented the victim from leaving the shed for an hour, the charges state. Riley then took the man's phone and talked to his girlfriend for a half-hour, according to the charges.
Riley then forced the man to drive them to his house. While they were there, the man's 61-year-old brother showed up, according to the charges.
"Riley said that he had a revelation that he was going to kill both of them" and grabbed a metal pipe," the charges state.
That's when the brother grabbed a knife and chased Riley out of the house, according to court documents.
Prosecutors requested a $107,000 bail noting in the charges, "the violent and irrational nature of the behavior alleged underlines a real immediate danger to public safety."
