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SALT LAKE CITY — A 51-year-old man was arrested in connection to a "suspicious circumstance" near the intersection of 800 South and State Street Saturday.
At approximately 4:45 p.m. Saturday, an officer said he pulled the man over near 824 S. State Street for having an expired registration. The man was identified as Arthur Lloyd Palmer.
When the officer scanned the driver's expired registration, the officer could see that the truck's color should have been white, but it was black, according to arresting documents. Furthermore, the registered owner of the vehicle, Palmer, had a warrant out for his arrest in Arizona for being a non-compliant sex offender, according to a police booking affidavit.
"When I approached the vehicle (Palmer) already knew that he had been stopped based on expired registration. He also admitted that he was the registered owner and had just painted the vehicle," the affidavit states.
After getting Palmer's identification and learning that he is a wanted sex offender from Arizona who "had been in the state of Utah for years avoiding capture" by "getting new licenses, new vehicle registration, and paint," the officer waited for a backup officer to arrive and then both approached the car to take Palmer into custody.
"When I told him to exit the vehicle (Palmer) produced a fixed-blade knife in a leather sheath. He stripped the knife from the sheath in an immediate show of force and held it up (and said) 'shoot me,'" the officer wrote in the affidavit.
Officers drew their weapons and ordered Palmer to drop the knife, which he eventually did. "Force" was then used to remove Palmer from his truck, according to the affidavit.
"During their investigation, the officers noticed a suspicious circumstance inside the pickup truck," said Salt Lake City police spokesman Brent Weisberg. "That suspicious circumstance involved liquids inside that vehicle."
Police said that officers saw several jars filled with liquid and other objects that concerned them. The department's bomb squad was called out.
Nearby businesses Taco Time and Epic Brewing were forced to evacuate. Other nearby businesses closed early.
"There doesn't appear to be any significant threat to our community, but we have closed State Street from 800 South to 900 South," Weisberg said Saturday night.
Investigators collected and studied evidence on the scene until nearly 9 p.m. Saturday.
"These situations take up a lot of time, but our No. 1 priority is for the safety of our officers and our community members who live, work and visit in this part of Salt Lake City," Weisberg said.
At least two devices found
The bomb squad found at least two devices Palmer told them about, according to court documents.
Palmer told officers that he had explosives he planned to use in World War III, which he believes is imminent.
"He stated that he plans to use these devices against the enemy," the affidavit states.
The department's hazardous devices units are still investigating both the vehicle and devices, which may result in more charges, according to the court document. Police did not say definitively if the bomb squad found any legitimacy to the explosive threat, but did say the materials were safely removed and will be stored safely as evidence.
Case records show Palmer was found guilty in Arizona of sexual conduct with a minor in 1996. He also had a separate guilty charge of arson in Arizona in 2010.
The arresting document alleges that Palmer "had been in the state of Utah for years avoiding capture or registry."
Palmer was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of 12 counts of failing to register as a sex offender, two counts of failing to maintain a current sex offender ID card, two counts of having an incendiary device, aggravated assault, interfering with an arresting officer, possession of a weapon by a restricted person and for having an expired vehicle registration.
