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COALVILLE — Criminal charges were filed Tuesday against a Summit County man who prosecutors say threatened to burn his house down with his wife's two dogs inside and create a Ruby Ridge type of standoff.
Gary Lee Jamieson, 56, of Coalville, is charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated arson, a second-degree felony; possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony; electronic communication harassment and two counts of aggravated cruelty to an animal, class B misdemeanors.
Jamieson was angry at his wife because of a job she took and he had threatened to harm her, according to police.
"In the past he had stated that if she left him, he would burn their house down," charging documents state.
On Thursday, Jamieson's wife "was on the road for her job and would not disclose to Jamieson her location for fear he would harm her," according to the charges, which also say Jamieson then threatened to burn their house down with his wife's two dogs inside.
A man who lives in a trailer on their property said Jamieson told him that day that it was about to get bad, that police would be involved, and that "It's going to be like Ruby Ridge," 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.
The man then got a call from the wife who stated "Jamieson had threatened to kill her and blow up the house with her two dogs in it. (She) asked him to get her dogs out of the house," the charges state.
The Summit County Sheriff's Office was called. When deputies arrived, they said they could smell propane near the home. The fire department was called to shut off the main gas line.
Deputies then entered the house and found the wife's two dogs.
"While clearing the downstairs level of the home, (a deputy) noticed an exterior door that had been barricaded with a 2x6 and a 2x4. The window on the door had been covered with tin foil, and a clamp secured the door handle and the locking mechanism. She also observed an indoor propane tank connected to a flexible tube, and the other end of the tube was not connected to anything. She observed other propane tanks nearby and three car batteries near the tanks," the charges state.
A battery charger was also plugged into a wall that had clamps attached to one of the car batteries, according to the charges. The deputy made a video call to the Park City Fire Department to show them what she had found.
Jamieson was not at the home at the time. He was stopped by deputies while driving his car a short time later and arrested. A gun was also found in the vehicle with him, according to the charges. Because of a prior conviction in Idaho, Jamieson is not allowed to possess a gun, a police affidavit states.
Prosecutors have requested that Jamieson be held in the Summit County Jail without bail pending trial.
