Cottonwood Heights man charged with threatening tenants arrested

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — A man charged with trying to blow up his apartment building during a mental health crisis is facing additional criminal charges for a similar incident that police say happened less than two weeks later.

Taylor McHenry Hill, 34, of Cottonwood Heights, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with two counts of assault on an officer, a second-degree felony; two counts of attempted burglary, a third-degree felony; and three counts of causing property damage, a class B misdemeanor.

Hill is already facing charges of making a terroristic threat, a second-degree felony; and theft by receiving stolen property, a third-degree felony, for an incident on Nov. 9. In that case, Cottonwood Heights police were called to the Shadow Ridge Condominiums, 7180 S. 1300 East, after other tenants heard Hill “smashing things” and screaming, “You all are gonna die,” according to the charges.

Officers discovered that Hill had barricaded himself inside his apartment and was yelling “nonsensical things, made comments about the recent election, the LDS Church (and) claimed he was Jesus,” charging documents state. While trying to negotiate with Hill, he allegedly told police “he had severed a gas line inside the home and put batteries and other flammable items/liquids in the microwave that he was going to blow the building up and kill everyone.”

Officers evacuated all 24 units in the building and turned off all the gas meters. After about an hour of negotiations, they were able to get Hill to surrender.

Since that incident, police say they have been called back to his apartment six times between Nov. 9 and Nov. 21 to deal with Hill. On Nov. 21, officers were again called to the complex after Hill attempted to enter an apartment he did not live in “and screamed that he was going to kill” the people inside, according to charging documents.

When officers arrived at his apartment, they noted that Hill was inside and “yelled unintelligible things and appeared to be in a state of mania. Hill then broke the glass out of the window and continued to yell and make threats to kill” officers, the charges allege.

At that point, officers decided to breach the door and entered Hill’s apartment. They reported finding him in his living room with his hands up and again yelling nonsensical things. Officers were able to take him into custody despite Hill resisting arrest.

Police then learned that Hill had destroyed property around the complex earlier that day. One tenant told officers she witnessed “Hill throw things from his balcony and damage other residents’ property. (She) reported Hill was verbally abusive to anyone who was watching him. (She) reported she has seen the same type of outbursts from Hill several times before. Hill has been arrested in the past, but Hill returns and the situation repeats itself,” the charges say.

Prosecutors say Hill’s behavior “has increased and the demeanor has escalated” and have asked that Hill be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without the possibility of posting bail.