Man charged in random attack at Salt Lake hotel

Man charged in random attack at Salt Lake hotel

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SALT LAKE CITY — A man was high on drugs and delusional about his surroundings when he attacked a stranger inside a Salt Lake hotel, according to charges filed Thursday.

Justin Clinton Wilkens, 40, is charged in 3rd District Court with aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, and unlawful detention, a class B misdemeanor.

Just before the alleged attack early Tuesday morning, court documents say Wilkens was playing games on his phone with a friend and smoking Spice and crack cocaine at the Rodeway Inn, 616 S. 200 West.

Wilkens, whose last known address was in Salt Lake City, "began to fear people would be coming for him," charges state. He allegedly hit and head-butted his friend and held him by his shirt to keep him from leaving their hotel room. After a couple of minutes, Wilkens' friend escaped the room, police say.

"Wilkens gave chase; however, he began to feel as though his back was exposed and that he was in Iraq, causing him to retreat back to his room," charges state.

Wilkens started toward his hotel room and saw a man he didn't know. Under the delusion of his drug high, he thought the man "was reaching into his bag for a firearm," according to court documents.

"Wilkens then attacked (the stranger), claiming he was trying to hold him there until police arrived," charges state.

Police say surveillance footage from the Rodeway Inn shows Wilkens throwing the man to the ground, strangling him and putting him in a chokehold.

The man, in his early 30s, was taken to University Hospital in critical but stable condition. Court documents say his injuries from the alleged attack "may not have been responsible" for his poor condition, though the charges don't into further detail.

A Salt Lake police officer arrived to find Wilkens strangling the man, the charges state. The officer separated Wilkens and the man, but Wilkens again grabbed hold of the man, placed him in a headlock and continued doing so even after the officer used his Taser, court documents state.

Wilkens let go of the man when additional officers arrived, according to police. He is being held in the Salt Lake County Jail.

Wilkens pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor drug possession charge in October, according to court records. He was also convicted of driving with a measurable controlled substance in his body, also a misdemeanor, in May 2014.

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Ben Lockhart

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