Man accused of locking 5 children in shed outside home

OGDEN — A man was taken into custody on Saturday after police say he locked his five children, aged six and younger, in a shed outside his home.

Police documents say police initially responded to reports of shoplifting, where a woman was arrested. The woman’s husband later arrived there to pick up their five children from the scene.

The documents said the man gave police a Mexican ID with the name Omar Garcia. However, after he left with the children, police reportedly determined that ID was false and the man was actually 36-year-old Wilber Rojas.

Rojas already had a felony warrant for his arrest in Ogden, as well as a misdemeanor warrant in Sunset, the documents said. Police officers then went to Rojas’ home address, which he had given them earlier when he picked up the children.

“At this address, I found the truck he left the previous incident in parked outside the residence,” the documents said. “Contact was made with residents who were uncooperative, but stated that Wilber was not at the residence.”

Police then obtained a search warrant for the home to arrest Rojas, but they couldn’t immediately find him inside, the documents said. Police then searched the property.

“During the service of the warrant, it was found that (Rojas) locked the five children in a shed from the outside. The shed was made of wood with an electrical heater inside,” the documents said.

The children were reportedly aged six, five, four, one and under one year old. The documents said Rojas was not with them, and they had “no means of escape should a fire start in the shed.”

Police said Rojas was eventually found hiding in the backyard of the property inside an abandoned vehicle. He was taken to the Weber County Jail, accused of five counts of misdemeanor child abuse, as well as providing a false ID and interfering with police. He was also booked for his previous warrants.