Kidnapping suspect upset over business deal


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ALPINE -- An open phone line helped police get inside the mind of their suspect and bring a hostage situation in Alpine safely to an end.

Police have identified the suspect as 36-year-old Tyler Archuleta of West Valley City. They said Archuleta held the family at gunpoint over a business deal gone bad.

Lone Peak police would not elaborate on the business history between Archuleta and the homeowner, but KSL has learned the victim is an executive of a large trucking company and the suspect was apparently upset he was no longer being hired as a subcontractor.

The victim is the CEO of Savage Industries, which has trucking operations in several states and is based here in Utah. Archuleta owns his own trucking company, and was apparently not happy that the business relationship had ended.

It is unclear if the two had actually ever had any personal business dealings or if the Savage executive was simply targeted because of his position in the company.

Kidnapping suspect upset over business deal

Police said Archuleta entered the home near 800 East Cottonwood Circle with a gun around 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, demanding some sort of compensation from the homeowner. He then held the man, his wife and teenage daughter at gunpoint for about 20 minutes while demanding the money.

Neighbors said while Archuleta was in the house, the teenage daughter dialed 911 and left the line open so police could listen in.

"We were able to hear some of what was going on in the house though the conversation that was going on there," Brian Gwilliam, with the Lone Peak police department said.

Officers said they could hear the homeowner negotiating with Archuleta to leave the house with him and his wife.

"They got in a car and started to come out of the driveway. The police department, with the help of the sheriff's office, was able to stop the vehicle and take the suspect into custody," Gwilliam said.

Police said when they took Archuleta into custody, he had a gun and several other weapons in his possession.

Police said the family handled the situation well and did the right thing by meeting his demands.

"They handled themselves absolutely textbook, as far as we are concerned," said Gwilliam. "If you are taken hostage, this is the way you should handle it and we are really appreciative that they were able to do what they did, so we could do what we were supposed to do."

Archuleta was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail. He now faces several charges, including two counts of aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, and extortion.

We spoke to the family's religious leader who was at their home Wednesday morning. He said everyone was doing OK and no one was physically injured during the ordeal. He also said the family was shaken up about what happened.

Story compiled with contributions from Shara Park and Sam Penrod.

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