One person in jail following SWAT standoff late Thursday night
Jan 20, 2023, 7:00 PM
Salt Lake City Police took a 44-year-old man into custody late Thursday night following a SWAT standoff at a Salt Lake City motel. Police say the man was a wanted felon. Photo credit: Salt Lake City Police Department.
SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City police say a person is in custody following a SWAT standoff late Thursday night.
According to police, the incident happened in the area of 850 W. North Temple around 8:30 p.m. An officer with the Pioneer Bike Squad attempted to stop an individual for a traffic violation. However, the individual immediately fled from the officer and entered a motel room in the area of 700 W. North Temple.
The suspect has been identified as 44-year-old Juan Garibaldi, a wanted felon. Due to previous encounters with Garibaldi, police had reasons to believe he may have access to weapons. Police say the suspect has several felony weapon-related warrants for his arrest.
Out of abundance of caution, police secured the motel, and evacuated a portion of the motel property.
Law enforcement personnel attempted to communicate with the individual for several hours, but were unsuccessful. Eventually, the SWAT team safely entered the motel room and took the individual into custody.
At first, the suspect did not comply with the SWAT officers. However, after several minutes of in-person discussions, the suspect surrendered.
One other person was found in the motel room. Police are unsure what her involvement was, but she has been detained pending an investigation.
There were no shots fired during the SWAT standoff on Thursday night, and no injuries were reported.
Garibaldi was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. In addition to the several warrants, he was also booked for investigation of failure to stop at the command of a police officer, possession of drug paraphernalia and bicycle lamp required.
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