ST. GEORGE — A four-hour standoff in Bloomington ended when the suspect released his two small children and later was arrested after reportedly fighting with police – injuring one officer – authorities say, before he was booked into jail on multiple charges.
The arrest stems from an incident reported on Sunday when officers were dispatched to a residence on Bloomington Drive for a disturbance call reported shortly before 8 p.m. in St. George.
According to arrest documents filed with the court, officers arrived to find an injured woman who said she had been assaulted by her children’s father and that he had driven off with the two young children in the car.
Officers also received information that the suspect, Joseph Tyler Alexander, 34, was intoxicated when he drove off with the children.
The incident started earlier that day during a gathering at a nearby pool when the suspect was drinking heavily and he became very intoxicated, the report states, at which point he began to yell obscenities in front of the children and the guests at the pool.
A few hours later, the children’s mother showed up at a friend’s house with multiple injuries and police were called.
Officers spoke to the woman, who was in the ambulance being treated by emergency medical personnel at the time, and noticed she had sustained a laceration to her right eye that was swollen three times its normal size. Five hours later there was extensive bruising to the eye that was nearly swollen shut. There also were marks on her neck consistent with choking.
She also sustained other facial injuries, including bleeding in one of her ears that continued for more than two hours, as well as a possibly fractured rib and other bruising and contusions, some of which indicated older injuries from previous assaults, police say.
Officers also learned many of the injuries allegedly were caused by the suspect who reportedly punched and kicked her numerous times all over her body, an assault the report states took place in front of at least one of the children.
Meanwhile, the suspect had returned with the children and was believed to be inside the home, which is when officers called Alexander more than once with no success.
When authorities learned that Alexander, who was reportedly intoxicated, had access to several firearms with the children still inside the home, they obtained a warrant and the St. George SWAT team was called in to assist.
By then, more than 20 police units lined the street that was cordoned off to traffic.
Once the negotiator was able to reach the suspect by phone, communication was established and negotiations to encourage the suspect to come out, or at least send the children out, were initiated. A four-hour ordeal ensued.
The suspect told the negotiator he did not want his children taken from him again after they were removed from the home and placed in the custody of the Division of Child and Family Services the previous year, the officer explained in the report. The youngsters were recently returned to the parents after more than a year in the custody of the state.
A short while later, the suspect opened the door and the children walked out to awaiting officers, and following further negotiations, police say, Alexander exited the residence but then began to fight with officers as they attempted to detain him. As a result of the altercation, the report states, one of the officers was transported to the hospital with multiple injuries, including a laceration that required stitches.
The suspect was physically restrained and then transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility to face multiple charges, including second-degree felony assault. He also faces one count of assault on a peace officer with substantial bodily injury and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child – each a third-degree felony.
Alexander also was booked on two misdemeanor charges, including interfering with an arresting officer and intoxication.
The officer also noted Alexander’s extensive criminal history included burglary, six assault charges, eight charges of criminal mischief and numerous other cases and convictions.
In a case filed in February, the suspect was arrested on felony DUI after police were called out to a report of two small children being left alone in a motel room in St. George. The officers took the children and then met up with Alexander at a gas station located nearby, and he was arrested after he reportedly failed a field sobriety test.
The burglary case was filed in 2019 and involved a house party that took place at a residence, during which Alexander was asked to leave the property after creating a disturbance. Shortly thereafter, court records reveal the suspect reportedly returned to the home carrying a baseball bat.
While the attendees hid in a back bedroom and called 911, the suspect struck one of the windows of the home with the bat and shattered the glass. Two vehicles also were damaged.
Many of the cases involved domestic violence-related offenses that took place in front of the children, the officer noted, which resulted in the youngsters being placed into state custody for approximately one year.
One such case filed in 2018 involved an incident in which the children’s mother was punched and beaten, leaving several visible injuries that were later documented by police, who also noted the attack took place “in front of their two small children,” according to court documents.
Following the incident Sunday, the officer requested that Alexander be held without bail, citing past threats by the suspect to kill the children’s mother, as well as his access to firearms, and that he “is not afraid” to commit assaults in front of the children.
The request was approved and a no-bail order was signed by District Judge Jeffery C. Wilcox Monday morning.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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