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TOOELE — A man who threatened to shoot a woman if she did not drive him to a residence in Tooele County and then held three people captive once he got there, according to police, has been arrested.
Sammy Eugene Woodroe Blackbear, 58, was booked into the Tooele County Jail on Saturday and formally charged Monday in 3rd District Court with four counts of aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony; possession of a gun by a restricted person, a second-degree felony; and four counts of aggravated assault and two counts of discharge of a firearm, third-degree felonies.
On Saturday, deputies with the Tooele County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to the area of the Skull Valley Indian Reservation on a report of shots being fired, according to a police booking affidavit. While en route, the affidavit continues, emergency dispatchers received additional information that Blackbear was threatening to shoot a woman if she did not drive him out of the area.
"While driving down state Route 196, (Blackbear) held a firearm at the victim multiple times and discharged the handgun out the window two times," the affidavit states, adding that when the woman attempted to stop, Blackbear "forced the muzzle of the firearm to her thigh saying, 'I'll shoot your foot off if you don't keep driving.'"
Blackbear eventually had the woman drop him off at a residence in Tooele County. Once there, Blackbear had the three people at the residence lock the door and "remained in the residence with the three victims. (He) would not leave the residence and continued to hold the handgun in his hand, placing his finger on the trigger multiple times. Law enforcement units arrived on scene and a hostage negotiator was able to convince him to exit the residence where he was taken into custody," the affidavit states.
