Millcreek man charged with trying to avoid eviction using hoax bombs

A Millcreek man was charged Friday with barricading the entrances of his home with devices made to look like homemade bombs in an attempt to avoid being evicted.

A Millcreek man was charged Friday with barricading the entrances of his home with devices made to look like homemade bombs in an attempt to avoid being evicted. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)


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MILLCREEK — A Millcreek man is facing criminal charges accusing him of trying to avoid being evicted from his home by barricading the entrances with devices made to look like homemade bombs.

Robert Don Olsen, 51, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with making a threat of terrorism, two counts of using a hoax weapon of mass destruction, and drug possession with intent to distribute, second-degree felonies; four counts of possession of a weapon by a restricted person and 911 abuse, third-degree felonies; and marijuana possession, a class B misdemeanor.

On Dec. 4, a Unified police officer attempted to serve an eviction notice at Olsen's residence, 2599 E. 2980 South, but when he got there he found "a 5-gallon propane tank attached to wires coming from the house ... by the front door," according to charging documents. Olsen also made several comments "that he would not be leaving the residence alive."

On Tuesday, police returned to the house to evict Olsen. After he was observed leaving his home, officers surrounded the residence to try to prevent him from getting back inside, the charges state.

"Olsen was seen driving past the barricade several times. A short time later, Olsen called 911 to report that a person had a handgun and fired shots," according to the charges.

Olsen allegedly claimed the shooting was happening about six blocks away from his residence, but officers quickly determined there wasn't really a shooting.

After calling 911, Olsen parked his car a short distance away from the home and "attempted to get back in the residence by climbing the fence in the backyard," the charges state. At that point, police took Olsen into custody.

Officers then obtained a search warrant to go inside the residence where they found "a bottle with wires attached, wrapped in duct tape and liquid inside, two pistols, two rifles, field-tested positive marijuana and 131.5 amphetamine pills," according to the charges. Police also found "that the entrances to the residence were heavily barricaded and there were weapons and ammo at each one."

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Pat Reavy, KSLPat Reavy
Pat Reavy interned with KSL in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL or Deseret News since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.
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