Eagle Mountain man is charged in standoff with the police

PROVO — A man who held SWAT teams at bay outside his Eagle Mountain home last month now faces three felony charges.

Matthew Graham, 34, was charged Friday morning with threat against life or property, aggravated assault and domestic violence in the presence of a child.

At another court hearing Monday morning, his attorney, Craig Bainum, asked for a preliminary hearing on March 10.

"Since he's going to be in jail, we don't really want to delay it," Bainum said.

On Jan. 31, Graham, a former Utah National Guardsman, threatened to kill his wife and himself, then refused to come out of his house to talk with responding police officers.

The family's LDS bishop had called police around 10 a.m. with concerns that there was domestic violence going on in the home.

When police arrived, Graham let his wife and children go but told police he wanted to be left alone, while alluding to the many guns in his home as well as his military training.

Because of those comments, the SWAT team was called and waited outside the home for nearly four hours.

Police were at an impasse as Graham requested a letter from a judge before he would come out. So officers prepared a letter, said prosecutor Dave Sturgill.

The situation ended with Graham coming out safely and none of the officers injured.

"Because of good police work, the guy is alive," Sturgill said.

Graham was taken into custody immediately and booked into the Utah County Jail at $50,000 cash-only bail.