Brigham City man receives no additional jail time for threatening to 'blow up' girlfriend's house

BRIGHAM CITY — A man accused of threatening to blow up his girlfriend's apartment will serve probation after pleading guilty to reduced charges.

Jeremy Ruben Perea, 44, of Brigham City, was charged in 1st District Court with domestic-violence related reckless endangerment, a third-degree felony; public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, and an infraction for disorderly conduct.

On April 18, Perea became upset with his girlfriend, who was also his upstairs neighbor. Perea opened the gas lines on the property and texted the woman to "get away," "get the dogs out," and that this was his "last goodbye," the charges state.

The woman fled with her dogs and called 911 saying that Perea had threatened "to blow up the house," the charges said. The woman said Perea had been drinking and was banging on an internal door that connected their apartments while making the threats, the police booking affidavit said.

When officers responded to the scene, they were able to smell gas.

"(Perea) told officers to evacuate the area because the gas was on and he was going to ignite it," the charges state.

Perea was apprehended by the police and taken into custody. The woman told police she feared for her life because Perea was distraught over his vehicle being repossessed and his father getting a terminal health diagnosis, and she had been threatened with a knife by Perea in the past, the affidavit states.

In July, Perea pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor.

"I did recklessly engage in conduct that created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to a cohabitant," his plea states. The other charges were dismissed.

While he was on pre-sentencing release for that case, he was arrested in August for violating a protective order by visiting the same victim. Charges state he had been drinking, brought a knife to her place and threatened to kill himself.

Perea is accused of grabbing the woman's neck, pushing her into a bookshelf while pointing the knife at her, and refusing to let her leave, according to the charges. Police said Perea had to be tased to be taken into custody.

"(Perea) has at least three prior domestic violence convictions in the past 10 years," the charges state.

He was charged on Sept. 1 with domestic violence-related aggravated kidnapping and unlawful detention, domestic violence aggravated assault, and two counts of violating conditions of release after an arrest, third-degree felonies; damage to communications device and interfering with an arresting officer, class B misdemeanor; public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, and an infraction for disorderly conduct.

On Oct. 19, Perea pleaded guilty to reduced misdemeanor class A charges of aggravated assault and violating release conditions, plus the damage to a communications device and the public intoxication misdemeanors.

That same day, he was sentenced in both cases by 1st District Judge Brandon Maynard to up to a year in jail depending on the charge, but all jail terms were suspended. He was given credit for the 67 days he had previously served and ordered to two years on probation, during which he must do mental health and substance abuse evaluations and recommended treatment, and cannot be in possession of any drugs or alcohol, court documents show.

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