Charges filed against man accused of trying to hijack UTA bus

LAYTON — A Farmington man who police say huffed a can of air duster before trying to hijack a UTA bus and attempting to burn an officer, is now facing formal charges.

Keith Sterling Frandsen, 36, was charged Monday in 2nd District Court with bus hijacking, a first-degree felony; assault on a police officer, a class A misdemeanor; and interfering with a police officer, a class B misdemeanor.

On June 26, Frandsen allegedly “huffed a psycho-toxic chemical from an air duster can” while riding on a Utah Transit Authority bus in Layton, according to charging documents.

Police: Officer burnt by man suspected of trying to hijack a UTA bus

“Keith told the bus driver to stop the bus, grabbed his arm and assaulted him by spraying him in the face with the air duster can,” the charges state.

Bus was disabled

The bus driver and passengers got off the bus “while Keith remained on the bus and sprayed a fire extinguisher in the interior,” according to the charges. Police say Frandsen then “attempted to hijack the bus” and drive away. “UTA, however, disabled the bus before Keith could do so.”

Frandsen threw his phone at an officer and then “used a small lighter in his pocket to try and burn the officer. The officer attempted to arrest Keith, but he resisted arrest as he continued to try to burn the officer,” the charges state.

The officer suffered minor injuries and a broken police radio.

The charges also note that Frandsen is “currently on zero tolerance felony probation for other violent crimes.”

In September, Frandsen pleaded guilty to aggravated assault resulting in serious injury for “using a wooden dowel that he took off of a broken chair” to assault a man in Farmington, according to court records. He also pleaded guilty to a second case of attempting to disarm a police officer.

As part of his plea deal, Frandsen was sentenced to a year in jail with credit for time served and his prison sentence was suspended. Adult Probation and Parole is now recommending Frandsen be ordered to serve that suspended sentence of one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison for his September convictions.