Inmate in jail bomb threat to stand trial

Inmate in jail bomb threat to stand trial


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CEDAR CITY -- An inmate accused of holding a deputy hostage and threatening to blow them both up in an effort to escape from the Iron County Jail has been ordered to stand trial.

Steven Douglas Crutcher, 27, was bound over for trial after a preliminary hearing in 5th District Court on Wednesday, court records show. The deputy he is accused of holding hostage testified against him.

Iron County sheriff's deputies said Crutcher manufactured what appeared to be a bomb out of a toilet paper roll, wires from an AM/FM radio and a pencil eraser. In the jail visiting area, deputies said he grabbed a jail officer and held her hostage, threatening to blow both of them up if he was not allowed to escape the jail.

It led to a tense situation in the jail until the deputy was able to be freed and Crutcher was taken back into custody. The supposed bomb was later found to be a fake.

Crutcher is charged with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated escape, both first-degree felonies; three counts of aggravated assault by a prisoner, a second-degree felony; and terroristic threats, a second-degree felony. He will enter a plea to the charges next month.

Crutcher remains in the jail, but court records said the judge ordered Iron County Jail personnel not to question him about the incident.

E-mail:bwinslow@ksl.com

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