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SILVER SUMMIT, Summit County — A man who allegedly threatened to create a Ruby Ridge type of standoff in Summit County has been arrested after emergency responders found open propane tanks and car batteries in his home.
Gary Lee Jamieson, 56, was arrested Thursday and booked into the Summit County Jail for investigation of aggravated arson, possession of a firearm by a restricted person, and aggravated cruelty to an animal.
According to a police booking affidavit, on Thursday Summit County sheriff's deputies responded to a home in Tollgate Canyon where Jamieson "was making threats to barricade himself in the residence and burn the house down." He also allegedly threatened kill his wife's two dogs in the fire, the affidavit states.
Deputies responded to the house and learned that Jamieson had left the residence. He was spotted by deputies and pulled over. A loaded .357 revolver was found in his vehicle, according to the affidavit. Because of a prior conviction in Idaho, Jamieson is not allowed to possess a gun, the affidavit states.
As deputies continued to investigate, they detected an odor of propane outside the house.
"Due to safety concerns, the fire department was called to the scene. Fire personnel turned off the main gas line to two separate propane tanks for the residence," the affidavit states.
Police and fire crews then entered the house and found a door that was barricaded from the inside, the "window to the door was covered in tape and aluminum foil so you could not see inside the residence," and two dogs were in the house, according to the affidavit.
In the downstairs portion of the home, another propane tank was found "connected to a yellow flexible gas tube that was left. The other end of the yellow tube was not connected to anything, it was left sitting out in the open air of the residence. I observed a battery charger sitting next to the propane tank. The battery charger was plugged into a battery that was next to two other car batteries. I observed additional wires that appeared to be connected to another power source. I then called for a firefighter to examine my findings and it appeared this was a propane explosive device. Fire reported this setup appeared to be a substantial step towards executing the threats that were reported," the deputy stated in the affidavit.
A witness told investigators that Jamieson and his wife had been having "ongoing domestic issues" and that Jamieson claimed things were going to get bad with police involvement and that "it was going to be like Ruby Ridge here," referencing the 11-day standoff in Idaho in 1992 between Randy Weaver and his family and U.S. Marshals resulting in the deaths of three people.
Deputies have requested that Jamieson be held on no bail in the Summit County Jail, pending the filing of formal charges.
The Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online at udvc.org.
Domestic violence resources
Help for people in abusive relationships can be found by contacting:
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition: Utah's confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic violence hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
- YWCA Women in Jeopardy program: 801-537-8600
- Utah's statewide child abuse and neglect hotline: 1-855-323-DCFS (3237)
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
