Search Underway For Door-To-Door Salesman Who Threatened Homeowner

SOUTH JORDAN, Utah – As the temperatures start warming up, door-to-door sales are also warming up. In fact, it got beyond heated in one South Jordan neighborhood.

Earlier this week, a salesperson was caught on a doorbell camera verbally accosting the homeowner.

The homeowner says the salesman was selling magazines.

When the homeowner said he wasn’t interested, he says the salesman became aggressive and verbally abusive.

The video appears to back up his claim, as you can hear the salesperson spewing racial slurs, offensive language and homophobic name calling.

The salesperson ends the sales pitch with a couple of veiled threats.

Here’s a portion of the conversation:

Salesperson: What about reading? Do you believe reading is fundamental?

Homeowner: I DO.

Salesperson: Bam!

Homeowner: We’re right in the middle of a party here, so…

Salesperson: They were just telling me about a party over here or something too, I tried to catch…

Homeowner: The magazines I would not be interested in, to be honest with you, because everything’s online.

Salesperson: I was just giving you the opportunity… (unintelligible)… about to receive the magazines?

Homeowner: I don’t.

Salesperson: What is it, you don’t like n****rs you b**ch a** cra**er?

Homeowner: No, I… nothing to do with that. I just don’t want any…

Salesperson: Well, why’d you say it like that fa**ot?

Homeowner: What?

Salesperson: Why’d you say it like that, for?

Homeowner: Ummm, just…

Salesperson: I asked, are you interested in giving me the opportunity? Why you say it like that? Like I need you or something.

Homeowner: No.

Salesperson: You know, all this sh*t can get tooken from you tonight. Okay, so stop playing with me.

Homeowner: I’m not.

Salesperson: Alright. Don’t die too soon, man.

In the short conversation there were two racial slurs, a couple of offensive adjectives, homophobic name-calling, and a couple of veiled threats.

Once the salesman left, the homeowner filed a report with South Jordan Police Department.

“I was honestly shocked,” said Lt. Matt Pennington. “This is kind of out of the norm, to see that type of behavior. The language, the things being said, was quite shocking.”

That same night, another homeowner in the neighborhood posted to social media a very similar experience.

“Neighbors I repeat don’t answer the doors to the two gentleman knocking door to door for *******. When you turn them down they accuse you of being a white privileged person who hate black people then call you disgusting names. I called the non-emergency line and I have (hope) they are gone soon. I’m super shaken up by the whole thing and hope you don’t get the same reactions,” the post read.

South Jordan police said, in situations like this there is little they can do.

“For there to be a threat, a criminal threat, there’s got to be some type of follow through, like, ‘I’m going to kill you with a gun or a knife,’ or some type of action that follows the threat,” said Lt. Pennington. “So the statement, ‘I hope you die soon,’ at least according to state law, is not a crime.”

Pennington went on to say, “As scary as the language is, and as concerned as you should be with that, it’s not something that we can enforce, unfortunately.”

Neither of the homeowners knew who the salesman works for.

One of the homeowner’s doorbell camera showed a white van that he said the salesperson was in, but video did not show the license plate.

Police said if you choose to open your door to a salesperson, make sure you get their name, who they work for and any other credentials to help identify them.