Man in custody for kidnapping woman, holding three people against their will
Aug 28, 2022, 6:10 PM | Updated: Jun 25, 2024, 10:12 am

FILE — (KSL TV)
(KSL TV)
TOOELE COUNTY, Utah — A man was arrested after allegedly kidnapping a woman at gunpoint and holding three other victims against their will.
The man was identified by court documents as 58-year-old Sammy Eugene Woodrow Blackbear.
Police received calls of gunshots in Skull Valley Indian Reservation.
The documents state that Blackbear took a woman at gunpoint, threatening to shoot her if she did not drive him out of the area.
The woman began to drive down State Route 196 south while Blackbear threatened her and discharged the handgun out the window two times.
Blackbear demanded that the woman drive him to Grantsville, but when she refused, he put the gun up to her leg saying, “I’ll shoot your foot off if you don’t keep driving.”
The woman continued to drive until Blackbear “told her to stop at a residence in Tooele County.”
According to court documents the woman then left the area as Blackbear entered the residence.
Once inside, Blackbear “instructed the three individuals at the residence to lock the door.”
Blackbear remained in the home and would not leave as he held the three people against their will, continuing to threaten them with his handgun, “placing his finger on the trigger multiple times.”
Court documents state, “Law enforcement units arrived on scene and a hostage negotiator was able to convince him to exit the residence where he was taken into custody. A criminal history check was performed on [Blackbear] and it was found he is a convicted felon as of 1985. He should not have been in possession of any firearms.”
Blackbear may be charged with four counts of aggravated kidnapping, one count of aggravated assault, two counts of use of a firearm by a restricted person, and two counts of felony discharge of a firearm.