Taylorsville man who has threatened with machetes, now accused of threatening with crossbow

A Taylorsville man previously convicted of putting machetes through a co-worker's door is now accused of threatening a woman with a crossbow, and police say he is under investigation for additional crimes.

A Taylorsville man previously convicted of putting machetes through a co-worker's door is now accused of threatening a woman with a crossbow, and police say he is under investigation for additional crimes. (Ancoay, Shutterstock)


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TAYLORSVILLE — A man previously convicted of putting machetes through a co-worker's door because he wouldn't cover a shift for him, and who allegedly told his wife recently that killing someone is on his "bucket list," is facing new charges for threatening a woman with multiple weapons, according to prosecutors.

Zachary David Martindale, 30, of Taylorsville, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault, first-degree felonies; and aggravated assault, a third-degree felony.

On July 26, a woman went to Martindale's house after meeting him online, according to charging documents. She arrived "and had a couple of drinks with him in his garage, which she recalled as being full of musical equipment and archery equipment," the charges state.

While in the garage, Martindale exposed himself and demanded a sex act, "then grabbed a crossbow and pointed it at her" when the woman refused, according to the charges. The woman tried to leave the garage, but Martindale followed, "grabbed her by the arm, and threatened her with a knife by holding it up to her neck. He then forcibly took her phone and some cash away from her, at which point (the woman) ran from him, leaving her shoes at the residence.

"She also stated that he threatened to kill her and bury her in the backyard during their altercation," charging documents continued.

Police were contacted and officers obtained a search warrant for Martindale's residence, during which they "located multiple items of evidentiary value … including a knife in a sheath and a roll of duct tape in the garage, crossbows and crossbow bolts, multiple hunting knives, and an empty alcohol container" as well the woman's shoes, according to the charges.

When questioned by detectives, Martindale "indicated that he 'did not recall' anything happening at his home that night, but said that when he drinks he 'blacks out' and that he had a history of violence when he was drinking," the charges state.

In 2019, Martindale was convicted of aggravated burglary. In that case, Martindale went to a co-worker's residence in Midvale and put machetes through the door while threatening to kill the man's family because the man would not cover one of his shifts. He was given a suspended prison sentence of one to 15 years and placed on three years of probation starting in November 2019.

Martindale is also being investigated in a separate rape investigation reported to police just a few days prior to the July 26th incident, charging documents state.

"One of the allegations in that matter was that the defendant told the victim that he would kill her and bury her in his backyard, similar to the threat made in this case," the charges state.

Prosecutors also note that while police were investigating the July 26th incident, Martindale's wife told them "that on a recent car ride she and (Martindale) were talking about 'bucket list' items and that (he) told her that he wanted to murder someone," according to charging documents.

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Pat Reavy is a longtime police and courts reporter. He joined the KSL.com team in 2021, after many years of reporting at the Deseret News and KSL NewsRadio before that.

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