Man accused of breaking into Salt Lake apartments at gunpoint faces 14 felony charges

A man already charged in nine other criminal cases this year is now facing an additional 14 felony charges for allegedly breaking into five Salt Lake apartments.

A man already charged in nine other criminal cases this year is now facing an additional 14 felony charges for allegedly breaking into five Salt Lake apartments. (Lucian Coman, Shutterstock)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Police arrested a man they say broke into several Salt Lake apartments and pointed a shotgun at some tenants.

Justin Casey Young, 44, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Tuesday and charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with four counts of aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated kidnapping and four counts of aggravated robbery, all first-degree felonies; and two counts of theft and two counts of burglary, second-degree felonies.

On Sept. 4, in the area of 200 South and 400 West, Young entered an apartment by "forcibly breaking through the front door" and started "opening multiple doors/closets" as if he were looking for something or someone, according to a police booking affidavit. While in the apartment he found a loaded shotgun, took it and left, police say.

"(He) then kicked down a second apartment front door in the same complex and entered the apartment with the stolen shotgun in his hand," the affidavit alleges. A tenant told police that Young "was yelling as he walked through his apartment," and then left and kicked open the door of a third apartment.

"While inside, (Young) pointed the shotgun at one of the occupants and told him he would shoot him if he didn't allow him into one of the rooms. (He) then held two of the occupants at gunpoint while he ordered them to go with him back to a different floor," according to the affidavit.

The arrest report refers to that moment as a "hostage situation," but notes it "was brief."

Young then broke into a fourth apartment occupied by two people and "was screaming, 'Where is she?' while holding the shotgun," the affidavit states.

Police say Young also stole car keys from the third apartment and found the vehicle in the complex's garage "but was unable to navigate through the parking garage exit doors" resulting in him ramming through the door.

As detectives were investigating that case, they learned Young broke into a fifth apartment across the street from the complex, but that unit was unoccupied, the affidavit says.

Investigators found Young at about 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday and arrested him. He told police he was looking for his wife on the night of the break-ins.

Court records show Young has a criminal history in Utah dating back nearly 25 years, including nine criminal cases involving theft and burglary charges filed against him just this year.

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Pat Reavy interned with KSL NewsRadio in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL NewsRadio, Deseret News or KSL.com since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.
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