Orem man charged with assault, kidnapping at Tooele gas station

The Tooele Police Department is pictured on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

TOOELE — An Orem man faces multiple criminal charges accusing him of attempting to rob a Tooele gas station, assaulting three people and attempting to carjack two individuals.

Cristian Josue Ciliezar, 35, was charged Wednesday in Tooele County’s 3rd District Court with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery, both first-degree felonies, plus six other charges.

On Monday, Tooele County dispatchers received a 911 call during which only yelling could be heard in the background. Officers arrived to find Ciliezar backing away from four men, according to a police affidavit. Ciliezar had a cut above his eye, and was placed in handcuffs after officers learned he had allegedly assaulted others.

As the details were sorted out, police learned that Ciliezar first entered the gas station demanding money from a customer, then threatened an employee with a knife, then moved to the cash registers and threatened to shoot people, according to the affidavit.

Ciliezar apparently gave up trying to get money and left the store, but then tried to get into the car of a woman who was parked at a gas pump, the affidavit states. When that door was locked, police say Ciliezar then got into the passenger seat of another vehicle occupied by a man.

“That customer stated that (Ciliezar) had told him to drive and to ‘get down and I’ll let you live,’” according to the affidavit. “He stated that the male had his hand behind his back and he thought that he had some type of weapon there or was pretending that there was one there.”

But instead of driving, the man took his keys and got out of his car. Police arrived shortly after and arrested Ciliezar.

“He threatened five individuals with a weapon and threatened to harm them. He physically assaulted three individuals. He attempted to carjack two vehicles and attempted to kidnap the driver of one of those vehicles. He also acted very disorderly while he was inside my patrol car,” an officer wrote in the report.

In addition to aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery, Ciliezar was also charged Wednesday with theft, a second-degree felony; aggravated assault, a third-degree felony; interfering with an arresting officer, failing to disclose his identity and two counts of assault, all class B misdemeanors.

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