By Travis Uresk 1Nationjustice
9/28/23
Fruitland, Ut.- On 9/2/23, at around 5:00 p.m., Deputy Hansen responded to a domestic violence report at 34635 West Old Highway 40. The complainant said her husband, 31-year-old Taylor Aspen Best, hit her on the side of the face and pushed her son (who is a minor) against the wall by the throat.
The complainant and Taylor were verbally arguing, and the complainant asked her son to "Call the cops." As he attempted to call dispatch, Taylor spun around, grabbed the child by the throat, and pushed him against a table where the child's back was arched over a computer screen and against the wall.
The female complainant tried to get in between them, then Taylor attempted to leave the residence. The wife tried to prevent Taylor from going, and he hit her on the right cheek and then left the property.
When the police arrived, the victim feared Taylor would return and hurt them.
The police interviewed the current residents and took pictures of the injuries. The victim's cheek was swollen, and her son had red marks on his neck, consistent with being choked and scratched by his collarbone. He also had a gash on his right elbow, but the young man said he didn't know how it happened. His two sisters, ages 11 and 1, were also inside the residence during the time of the incident, but neither seemed to be injured.
Sgt Nichols was on the scene, and he called Taylor on the phone. They agreed to meet down the street. Nichols said Taylor told him he came to the residence to get his property, and the victim did not want him to leave. In the course of leaving, the son jumped Taylor, and any injuries on the son were the result of Taylor pushing him off him. Taylor denied trying to choke her son. When Nichols asked how he came to get the contusion by his left eye, he said, "His wife hit him."
Nichols told Deputy Hansen he decided to arrest Taylor because it appeared Taylor was the aggressor. This was determined by the consistency of the statements of the victim and children who could speak. The nature of the injuries and the facts contradicted Taylor's version of the incident. Nichols transported Taylor to the Duchesne County Jail.
