- Kevin Firmstone, 42, was arrested after allegedly barricading himself at Purgatory Correctional Facility.
- He falsely reported armed suspects, leading to a lockdown and police response.
- Firmstone was charged with multiple offenses including reckless driving and disorderly conduct.
HURRICANE — A 42-year-old Alabama man who allegedly tried to barricade himself inside the front office of the Purgatory Correctional Facility in Washington County has been arrested and charged.
Kevin Firmstone, of Florence, Alabama, was charged Thursday in Utah's 5th District Court with emergency reporting abuse, a second-degree felony; reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident, class B misdemeanors; not having car insurance, a class C misdemeanor; and disorderly conduct, an infraction.
About 3:15 a.m. on Wednesday, officers from three agencies responded to the county jail, 750 S. 5300 West, where "it was reported there was a male and possibly two additional subjects barricaded in the front office, armed with a gun," according to a police booking affidavit.
Using a security camera, officers quickly determined that Firmstone was the one who called police and was the only person inside.
"He could be seen on camera stacking the benches and then pulling out his phone and making the report," the affidavit states. "After Kevin was taken into custody, all video footage was reviewed and it was found that Kevin had been on the property for some time before he called into dispatch to make the false report."
Investigators say before entering the facility, Firmstone drove recklessly through the parking lot, "almost colliding with multiple vehicles and driving over curbs. He returned back to the public roadway before accelerating his vehicle through the perimeter fence of the sheriff's office property, almost colliding with a federally owned vehicle, kicking rocks up all over it. He comes to a stop and then accelerates towards the building, drives over a curb and rocks narrowly misses the office. (He) then exits his vehicle while it was still rolling towards the property," according to the affidavit.
Police say Firmstone "appears to be very manic and agitated" inside the jail front office when he calls 911 and falsely reports a man in the lobby has a gun and two others were barricading themselves inside, the affidavit states.
Responding officers located Firmstone as he was walking away from the jail and detained him at gunpoint.
"Kevin made the statement that he was an undercover police officer, which was found to be false," the affidavit states.
It was determined that the Firmstone did not have a gun and was arrested.
"It was found that Kevin had been involved in an incident in Nevada just hours before arriving in Hurricane," according to police. "Deputies and officers from three different law enforcement agencies responded and conducted a protective sweep of the sheriff's office property to confirm there was no additional threat. The jail staff was required to conduct a lockdown of the facility and secure the perimeter."
Information about the Nevada incident was not immediately available.
