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Police on Friday identified four suspects apprehended Thursday afternoon after a standoff at a home in Orem that lasted nearly four hours.
Berniece Halalilo, 18, James Phillip Falo, 18, and Jacob Pete Falo, 19, all of Orem, were all booked in the Utah County Jail on charges that included aggravated robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault, possession of stolen property and unlawful possession of a handgun, while 17-year-old Isaiah Walker Gale from Salt Lake City was taken to the Slate Canyon Detention Center.
The police originally apprehended five suspects after the standoff, but discovered after investigation that one had no involvement in a reported home invasion that led to the standoff.
According to Orem police, the suspects entered a home in northeast Orem early Thursday through an unlocked door. There were five people in the home who were assaulted with a baseball bat as they were lying in their beds. Orem Police Lt. Doug Edwards said the five victims were forced to crawl to the front room of the home and kneel in a circle while one of the suspects held a gun to their heads. All five victims suffered cuts and bruises, and one man was transported to the hospital with a head wound. One of the suspects, Falo, received a serious bite mark to a finger on his left hand when one of the victims fought back.
According to police documents, the victims were able to provide a description of Gale to police after the suspect's bandana fell off during the robbery. They described a tall black man with braces, large lips, diamond stud earrings in both ears and a black tank top. An attempt to locate was put out for the suspects' car, which was in turn spotted by Utah Valley University police who began pursuit.
During the pursuit of the suspects, the car briefly eluded police, but the suspects damaged the car and left it behind as they continued to run from police.
The Orem police recovered the car that the suspects were driving, as well as the stolen property, a bloody bat and a handgun. The car was identified as being in the possession of Halalilo and the suspects were located at a home near 1200 West and 675 North in Orem, where police negotiated with the suspects for four hours before they surrendered peacefully.
Upon questioning, all of the suspects refused to talk except for Jacob Falo, who admitted to the robbery. According to police documents, Falo said he, his brother and Gale had committed the robbery while Halalilo waited in the car. He said Gale brought the gun when he was picked up to commit the robbery, but all of the suspects held the gun and beat the victims.
In a press release Friday, Orem police said the robbery does not appear to be random, and the suspects claim to have been to the home before.
"It was not a case of mistaken identity, but rather, Jacob Falo said he had purchased marijuana at the home in the past and believed there would be drugs and money there," said Lt. Doug Edwards in an e-mail.
Edwards said no drugs were found in the home, but police will continue to investigate whether drugs have been sold from the home and whether it was a party house as the suspects claim. |
