ST. GEORGE — A 911 call resulted in a felony arrest of a man who was found with zip ties on his wrists, reportedly due to a sex party that went wrong.
On Thursday shortly before midnight officers were called out to a criminal mischief call involving a man who was punching a vehicle and causing damage to the car.
Officers arrived and spoke to the caller while additional officers canvassed the area in search of the suspect, who was soon observed walking south on Valley View Drive. Arrest documents said the man appeared to be intoxicated, as officers noted he was stumbling as he walked and unable to maintain his balance.
While speaking to officers, the suspect said he was walking down the street after having attended a “sex party” that got out of hand, according to the report. The suspect then showed officers the zip ties still secured to his wrists. He said he had zip ties on his ankles, but he was able to remove those before they arrived.
He also told officers he was trying to flag down bystanders to help him, and admitted that when a passerby stopped, he “didn’t like her attitude” and struck the woman’s vehicle. The suspect then asked the officers to cut the zip ties from his wrists, but when neither officer had tools to do so he became impatient and started walking away.
The suspect, 33-year-old Dwight Evan Taitano, was detained by police.
Officers spoke to the 911 caller who told them the suspect flagged her down, and when she stopped the man told her “people were after him.” She said that Taitano attempted to get into the vehicle by pulling on the door handles, and then struck the vehicle with his fists as she pulled away in fear for her safety.
Meanwhile, additional officers responded to where the suspect was being detained after a call over the radio reported the suspect was fighting with officers. During the struggle, which was several minutes long, the suspect kicked at several of them, striking one of the officers in the face and another in the chest, and he also spit on a number of the officers until they were able to safely restrain the man.
Taitano was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility facing three felony counts of assault by a prisoner as well as a slew of misdemeanor charges – including interference with an arresting officer, failing to stop at an officer’s command and three counts of propelling a bodily substance.
He was also booked on three outstanding warrants.
Ed. Note: A new Utah law generally prohibits the release of arrest booking photos until after a conviction is obtained.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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