Police say man planned to kill at least a dozen people

OGDEN — Police have arrested a man they allege traveled here from California to kill his ex-wife and as many as a dozen others.

Officers received a call from police in Morro Bay, Calif., on Jan. 9 about a man with a list of people he was intending to kill, Ogden Police Lt. David Tarran said Wednesday. Police tracked down the man at the Ogden River Inn motel on Washington Boulevard.

"We were told he was en route to Ogden to kill his ex-wife," Tarran said.

The man was arrested at gunpoint at the motel, he said, and had several guns with him, including a loaded .32-caliber pistol on his person.

Police in the central California coastal city of Morro Bay said Wednesday they were initially contacted by relatives there.

"We had some relatives here call us with some concerns that he had made some threats," Morro Bay Police Commander Tim Olivas said. "He had left the area by the time they came in."

Olivas said they did not have a copy of any "hit list," but passed along what the relatives claimed to Utah police.

"We were told of a list of people that was referred to as 'The Dead Dozen' that he allegedly wanted to kill," Tarran said.

Ogden police booked the 59-year-old man into the Weber County Jail on investigation of carrying a concealed weapon, a class A misdemeanor. Jail officials said he posted bail and was released on Jan. 9. Olivas said at this time, no charges are pending in California.

The man is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 20 in 2nd District Court on the gun charge.

---

E-MAIL: bwinslow@desnews.com