Posted by Travis Uresk | March 7th, 2023 | Domestic Violence |
By Travis Uresk
3/7/23
Vernal, Ut.- On 3/3/23, a VPD Officer was out on patrol when dispatch told him of a domestic not progressing on North Vernal Ave.
The Officer attempted to call the complainant but was unable to reach him.
Dispatch told the Officer the complainant's wife had hit him in the face during an altercation before he left for work. When the Officer arrived at the residence, he saw that the front door had been damaged.
Another Officer arrived, and they made contact with the female at the front door. She had a large bruise, a bleeding cut, and swelling to the left side of her face. She also had several bruises in various stages of healing on her neck and throat, consistent after strangulation. When she turned around, the Officers saw significant swelling on the back of her head.
When Officers asked what had happened, she said around 1:00 am, she and Kyle Jermy Swett had been arguing. She tried locking him out of the house when he went outside, but he kicked in the door, breaking the wooden frame.
Kyle approached her in the laundry room as she tried to enter another room. When she turned around to leave, Kyle took a large walking stick, and swung it, striking her in the back of the head. She fell to the floor, and Kyle jumped on top of her and began punching her in the face.
After she got up, she went to bed. Later that morning, Kyle woke her up and began to argue with her again. She stated Kyle wanted to have intercourse with her and told him no. Kyle tried pulling her pants off, so she left the room.
Kyle then picked up an arrow with a broadhead tip and began swinging it at her in a stabbing motion. He put the arrow down, grabbed a baseball bat, and began swinging it aggressively toward her. The victim grabbed a hockey stick to defend herself, and Kyle's adult son came into the room and took the hockey stick out of her hands. Kyle then put down the bat, and his son left the room.
This was when Kyle rushed towards her, picked her up off the ground, and slammed her face down onto the floor. He grabbed her hair and started slamming her face into the hardwood floor.
The victim said the bruises on her neck and throat were from a different incident when Kyle choked her with his hands, but she couldn't remember if he choked her in this incident.
The victim also said during this altercation, she picked up a rifle that was leaning against the wall of their room and placed it in a safe because she was worried Kyle would find it and use it to shoot her or himself. She said when she did this, Kyle told her that her fingerprints were now on the rifle and he would have her thrown in prison for attempted murder.
The Officers photographed and collected the baseball bat that was put in a broken plastic bin that Kyle broke, the arrow that was sticking into the floor near the front door, the rifle, and the walking stick Kyle used to hit the victim in the back of the head.
VPD contacted Kyle by phone, and he said he was on his way to Wyoming. They told him they needed to speak with him about the incident, and he said he would meet with them at the East Meadows Trailer Park.
During the meeting, Kyle admitted to shoving the victim to the ground while she held the rifle because she pointed it at him. He denied causing any of her injuries but said she had hit her head when he pushed her down. Kyle confirmed during the argument, he picked up the baseball bat to keep her from hitting him.
The Officer contacted his adult son, who was around the corner, and he said that he didn't hear or see anything, but he did take the hockey stick out of the victim's hands.
Kyle was placed under arrest and transported to the Uintah County Jail.
Kyle and the victim have had several previous incidences involving domestic violence, and some incidences have involved weapons, firearms, and severe injuries. If Kyle were to be released on bail, according to the lethality assessment, he would pose a significant risk to the victim. Kyle also has access to family members' firearms and various tools that could be used as weapons in his residence. He has shown a history of using both in prior domestics involving the same victim.
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