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MURRAY — An arrest warrant has been issued for a man accused of trying to hijack a UTA bus.
Joseph Jameau Mateos, 21, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with assault with intent to commit a bus hijacking, a second-degree felony.
On Sept. 10, Mateos got on a Utah Transit Authority bus at 6600 South and 900 East and refused to pay the ride fare, according to charging documents. When the driver questioned him, Mateos reached for the driver's backpack, the charges state.
"(The driver) told Mateos not to touch his property and Mateos got into (the driver's) face, telling him he had a gun and wasn't afraid to use it," according to the charges.
The driver eventually conceded and told Mateos to sit down, but also "pushed the panic button as he drove away," the charges state.
Mateos got off the bus near 5600 South and 900 East.
Police reviewed video surveillance video from the bus and observed Mateos refusing to pay because he said he was only going a short distance, and then becoming "hostile and aggressive" when the driver refused to drive, the charges state.
"I'm not going to tell you again. Start driving or I'm going to start throwing straight punches to your face," Mateos told the driver, the charges state, followed by, "What if I had a gun on me and pointed it at your head? What would you do?"
In the video, Mateos was wearing a shirt from a local pizza business given only to employees. Police went to the business and the manager recognized the person on the bus as a former employee, according to the charges. After police positively identified Mateos, a warrant was issued for his arrest.
