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SALT LAKE CITY — A man who was passed out in a car with drug paraphernalia on his lap was arrested Thursday in connection with the robbery of two women, police said.
A resident called police after noticing Michael Heiner, 24, was passed out in the front seat of a vehicle at 300 S. 700 East at about 6 p.m., according to Salt Lake City police Detective Dennis McGowan.
When officers arrived, McGowan said, they realized Heiner was the same man who had been identified as a person of interest for an aggravated robbery that occurred Saturday. Two women were sitting on a curb outside of Java Jo's coffee shop, at 401 East 1st Ave., when a man approached them at 12:25 p.m., police said.
“The suspect grabbed their purses that were on the ground and then he pointed a handgun at them,” police wrote in a statement. “One victim gave chase on foot after the suspect; the other remained at the scene. Other citizens tried to stop the suspect — he pulled a gun on them too.”
In this case it was someone who looked out and recognized something that didn't belong.
–Salt Lake City Police Department
Heiner fled the scene in a vehicle, according to investigators. He was arrested Thursday on suspicion of possession of heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia, aggravated assault, aggravated robbery and for outstanding warrants for child abuse, theft of services and criminal trespass, according to booking documents.
There was drug paraphernalia on Heiner’s lap when officers responded to the vehicle, according to McGowan. During a search incident to Heiner’s arrest, investigators also found heroin in the vehicle, and Heiner tested positive for the drug, McGowan said.
McGowan said police were able to make the arrest because a member of the public noticed something suspicious and called police.
“In this case it was someone who looked out and recognized something that didn’t belong,” he said. “We always promote the ‘see something, say something’ program where we get people who help us do our job.”
