A man in Utah was arrested Saturday after he used his motorized wheelchair "as a bulldozer" to gain entry into his estranged wife's home, said police according to NBC-affiliate station KSL. The outlet also reported that the man used a hatchet to threaten his wife.
The assault happened on Saturday night in Salt Lake City, Utah, said KSL. Juan Munguia, 56, hit his estranged wife's apartment door with a hatchet several times until she finally answered the door, said KUTV. Once the door was opened, however, Munguia "used his reported 400-pound, battery-powered wheelchair as a bulldozer to force the door open and push his way into the apartment."
Both the estranged wife and someone else inside the apartment attempted to bar Munguia from entering, but the wheelchair prevented them from closing the door, said KSL. As his wife and the other resident struggled at the front door, Munguia apparently swung the hatchet and threatened to "kill" them.
The crime rate in Salt Lake City is slightly higher than the average U.S. metro area, according to crimegrade.org. "Salt Lake City Metro is in the 44th percentile for safety, meaning 56 percent of metro areas are safer and 44 percent of metro areas are more dangerous," the site said.
"The rate of crime in the Salt Lake City metro area is 28.95 per 1,000 residents during a standard year," crimegrade.org continued. "People who live in the Salt Lake City metro area generally consider the southeast part of the metro area to be the safest."
However, the city's rate of assault is relatively the same when compared to other metro areas throughout the country.
"The rate of assault in the Salt Lake City metro area is 1.49 per 1,000 residents during a standard year," crimegrade.org explained.
Saturday's assault finally ended when Munguia "was disarmed, subdued and the joystick was used...to reverse the wheelchair out of the apartment," said the police affidavit according to KSL. One person sustained injuries, and "multiple hatchet strikes" were found in the drywall.
The affidavit also stated that Munguia alleged that he'd gone to his estranged wife's apartment because she owed him money. He also claimed that he brought the hatchet because it was a "family heirloom that belonged to her and he wanted to show it to her."
But Munguia eventually took the blame and was charged with aggravated assault and burglary, said KUTV.
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