Police: Man on parole dragged a woman by her mouth into apartment, threatened to kill a neighbor

OGDEN — An Ogden man on parole is back in jail charged with seven felonies after he beat up a woman, threatened to kill a neighbor, and dragged her inside an apartment multiple times, including by her mouth, according to police.

Jeremiah John Erickson, 37, will be held without bail in the Weber County Jail facing charges of aggravated kidnapping, burglary, assault, tampering with a witness, and possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person.

Police were called to an apartment complex on Ogden’s Adams Avenue with reports of domestic violence. Officers said after arriving they could hear a woman’s voice in “an elevated tone” coming from an apartment. Officers knocked but the apartment went silent. Erickson was apprehended by officers when he tried to leave by a back door.

Police spoke with the victim who was bleeding and had swelling on her mouth, face, and hand. Her elbows and knees were also injured from — according to court documents — being “grabbed, dragged, pushed and punched by Jeremiah.”

She told police she tried to leave the apartment and was prevented from doing so by Erickson, who was armed with a knife. He is said to have grabbed her by her face, ultimately “fish hooking” her in the mouth, causing it to bleed, and dragging her back into the apartment.

The woman attempted to escape again and ran upstairs in the complex yelling for help. She tried a resident’s door, found it open and went inside the occupied apartment, followed by Erickson.

Documents state that in front of the man inside, Erickson grabbed the victim and threw her against the wall and the refrigerator “actively assaulting her and slamming her against whatever was in her way.” The victim’s shirt came off during the attack and was left behind.

Erickson is said to have taken a knife out of his pocket and told the tenant “if he said anything to anyone, he would be dead.”

Erickson dragged the woman downstairs and back into the original apartment. She told police she fought and scratched Erickson. Investigators said blood and claw and scratch marks down the stairwell supported the victim’s claims.

Once back inside the original apartment, Erickson reportedly told the victim to put another shirt on and said if she did anything that sent him back to prison he would reactivate his membership in a gang and have her killed.

The victim said she tried to escape one more time, believing Erickson would kill her if she didn’t. She said he grabbed her by the back of the head and hair and dragged her back inside again. Broken items on the front porch supported the story, investigators stated in court documents.

With a search warrant, police located the knife said to be used in the assault, matching a detailed description from witnesses.

Erickson told police he had been drinking — a violation of his parole — but denied that the argument was physical.