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SALT LAKE CITY — A man who followed an alleged stranger with a metal pipe in Salt Lake City and threatened to kill him while using profanities and racist language, according to police, is facing multiple charges.
Curtis James Carlson, 63, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony; and aggravated assault, a third-degree felony.
On Sunday, a Salt Lake City police officer spotted a man "furiously flailing his arms to get the officer's attention" near 200 East and 500 South, according to charging documents. The officer then saw a second man, Carlson, yelling at the alleged victim while holding a metal pipe.
The victim told police that Carlson — a person he says he has never met — followed him for several blocks while holding a 12-inch metal pipe and "yelling racist remarks and profanity," such as, "I'm a white supremacist," and "I'll murder you. I am a violent contract killer," the charges state. The victim stated that Carlson also swung the piece of metal at him while trying to take his wallet.
When asked by police if he tried to hit the man with a metal object, Carlson said, "No." But when asked why he was holding it, he allegedly said, "Because I wanted to stab him in the neck," according to the charges.
"Carlson stated he intended to stab (the victim) because he's a snitch," the charges state, and he later added, "I should have killed him."
A police booking affidavit notes that Carlson "made multiple statements that he is a member of the Aryan Nation, KKK, and Hell's Angels."
Prosecutors have requested that Carlson be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without the possibility of posting bail.
