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OREM — An Orem man wanted by police for absconding is facing new charges accusing him of pointing a gun at officers who went to his house to arrest him.
Robin Blaze Thurber, 67, was charged Friday in 4th District Court with four counts of assault on a police officer and possession of a gun by a restricted person, second-degree felonies; and interfering with police, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, class B misdemeanors.
On July 18, officers from Adult Probation and Parole went to Thurber's Orem home to arrest him. Thurber was convicted of stalking and ordered in March to report to the Utah County Jail by June 4 to serve a sentence of two months. A warrant was issued for his arrest on June 14 after he didn't show up to the jail and hadn't checked in with Adult Probation and Parole since being sentenced, according to court records.
When officers arrived at his home on July 18, they announced their presence but Thurber did not come out of his house, charging documents state.
"When no one responded, the front door was breached and the home was entered by four officers. As the officers came around a corner in the home, they saw (Thurber) in a room at the end of the hallway, sitting on a bed, holding a handgun in a two-hand grip with his arms extended. He was pointing the gun directly at the officers," according to charging documents. "Officers retreated as (Thurber) laughed and called them 'cowards.'"
Thurber then walked to the front door of the home.
"We continued to give Mr. Thurber commands to come out with his hands up. Mr. Thurber came to the front door in his underwear and was acting erratic. He made multiple comments stating, 'You will never take me alive,' 'I'm not going back alive,' 'We're going to have a real party,' and 'Shoot me, pig,'" a police booking affidavit states.
SWAT team members were called to the scene and eventually got Thurber out of his house using tear gas and a police K-9, then placed Thurber under arrest.
In his conviction for stalking, Thurber confronted a neighbor "while wearing a machete on his hip" and threatened to kill the neighbor's dog, according to charging documents. He also left notes for the neighbor stating, "Dog bark, you die," and was "caught on a neighbor's surveillance (video) walking through the neighbor's yard with a firearm," the charges state.
