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PROVO — A Utah man was charged Monday with attempting to strangle a disabled man in a Provo motel and then faking a medical emergency while being arrested.
Daniel Joaquin West, 32, who is listed in court documents as being homeless, is charged in 4th District Court with aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony; plus aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult and reporting a false emergency, second-degree felonies.
About 1 a.m. on July 24, West approached a man who was outside of his room talking with others at the Executive Inn and Suites, 250 S. University Avenue, and tried to pick a fight with him, according to charging documents.
The victim, who did not know West, told him, "I don't have a problem with you" and backed into his room, the charges state. Prosecutors said that the man is disabled and in a wheelchair.
West followed the man into the room uninvited "and wrapped his belt around (the man's) neck. (West) forced (the man) down on the bed as he strangled him, yelling, 'If you tell anyone, I will kill you,'" according to the charges.
When police arrived and took West into custody, they placed him into the back of a patrol car.
"As he was sitting in the back of the patrol car, (West) faked unconsciousness and continued to feign an overdose," the charges state.
Police took West to a local hospital where police say "it was confirmed that there was nothing medically wrong" with him. He was then booked into the Utah County Jail.
