Man taken into custody after allegedly threatening people with machete
Jan 16, 2022, 6:26 PM
SOUTH OGDEN, Utah — A 27-year-old man was taken into custody Saturday after police say he threatened people at businesses in the Ogden area while armed with a machete.
One of the incidents happened at Popeye’s Chicken, located at 3920 S. Wall Avenue, in South Ogden.
An employee at the restaurant told police, according to court documents, that a man was being rude while ordering food, to which she replied saying he would not be served.
“He then began to argue and cut several people off in the drive thru to go to the window,” read the probable cause statement.
After the customer approached the window, another argument ensued with the Popeye’s employee.
Court documents state the employee told the man to leave before she closed the window. Next thing she knew, the man was approaching the front door of the restaurant with a large machete in his hand.
“The victim stated she was fearful enough to run past customers inside and lock the door to keep Greg from coming in, believing he would harm someone if he was able to get inside,” read the probable cause statement.
The man, later identified as Greg Morris, then drove away and was stopped by officers shortly after.
He was taken into custody without incident, according to police, and a large machete was later located inside his vehicle.
When interviewed by South Ogden officers, Morris stated that “he did get into an argument with the employee at Popeye’s because she was being rude. He stated that he tried to go inside and order food but found the doors were locked so he left.”
Dustin Thomas Labbe with the South Ogden Police Department wrote in the probable cause statement that Morris denied threatening anyone or even having the machete with him when he tried to enter Popeye’s.
Labbe said after the machete was found in Morris’ vehicle, he spoke with the initial complainant who had called police.
“This person stated that he was following behind Greg prior to him pulling into Popeye’s. He observed Greg swinging a machete out the window at vehicles in the lane next to him as they traveled down the road. He then observed Greg pull into Popeye’s and get into an argument at the window. He then observed Greg exit his vehicle and approach the front doors with the machete, and start shaking the doors trying to get into the business,” read the probable cause statement.
Morris, 27, was booked into the Weber County Jail for investigation of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony.
According to court documents, Morris chased a person through a Walmart parking lot with the machete just before the incident at Popeye’s Chicken, for which he was questioned by an officer with the Ogden Police Department.
The jail charge reflects both of those incidents, according to police.
