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SALT LAKE CITY — A registered sex offender already facing multiple charges in other cases — including allegedly causing thousands of dollars in damage to a dog grooming business — is now accused of entering a man's apartment naked and vandalizing the complex.
Daniel Jose Snell, 39, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with lewdness by a sex offender and criminal mischief, third-degree felonies; trespassing, a class A misdemeanor; and giving false identification to a law enforcer, a class C misdemeanor.
On July 19, Snell entered a man's second-floor apartment by crawling through the window while not wearing any clothes, according to charging documents. A man, who was asleep in his bed when Snell's loud entrance woke him up, "shouted at Snell to 'get out.' (He) then observed Snell hiding behind a flowerpot. (The man) told Snell to 'get out of here' and Snell ran out an exit," the charges state.
Snell caused approximately $2,000 damage to the apartment building, according to the charges. The next morning, another tenant, on the third floor, called police to report that when she returned home after being away for the night, she found clothing and paperwork inside her apartment that did not belong to her, according to the charges. The paperwork had Snell's name on it.
Detectives reviewing surveillance video observed Snell entering the third floor and trying door handles before entering the woman's apartment.
"About 20 minutes later, the male exits the apartment completely naked and walks down the hallway and back into the stairwell," the charges state.
Snell is listed on the Utah Sex Offender and Kidnap Offender Registry as a "noncompliant" sex offender. He was convicted in 2007 of forcible sexual abuse, sentenced to one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison, and released from prison in 2013. Prosecutors note in court documents that "since March 19, 2013, until his sentence expired on March 21, 2021, Snell's parole was revoked at least nine different times."
Over the past 13 months, Snell has had five felony cases filed against him in 3rd District Court, including Wednesday's charges.
In August, he was charged with criminal mischief, a second-degree felony; failing to stop at the command of police, a class A misdemeanor; and trespassing, a class B misdemeanor, for an alleged incident in July that happened about two weeks after he allegedly broke into the apartments.
On July 31, Snell broke into Diggity Dog Resort, 245 Paramount Ave., and caused more than $13,000 in damage which included, "$1,500 in damage to a tool shed, $4,000 in damage to the business's swamp cooler, $5,000 in damage to five separate dog kennels, $2,000 in damage to fencing, and he destroyed two dog houses with a cost of $350 each and four scoopers costing $40 each," according to charging documents.
In his attempt to avoid being caught by police, Snell also shut off the power breaker to the business, which caused the air conditioning unit to shut down, according to court documents. Several dogs were locked in their kennels and the temperature in Salt Lake City that day was 100 degrees, charges state. Business owners responded to the scene quickly, however, and no dogs were injured.
In another case, on July 27, Snell is accused of breaking into Lux Events, 1578 S. 300 West, stealing a laptop and consuming the business's food and drinks, according to charging documents. He was charged in that case with burglary and theft.
