SKULL VALLEY INDIAN RESERVATION, Tooele County — A member of the Goshute Tribe has been charged in federal court with kidnapping, threatening and robbing two motorcyclists who got lost on the reservation, then abandoning them in a remote area of the west desert, forcing them to walk for hours to find help.
Russell Allen is facing three charges in U.S. District Court: kidnapping, assault and theft within Indian country.
Two motorcycle riders exploring the west desert in Tooele County on Saturday “traveled onto the Skull Valley Indian Reservation, not realizing that they were on a reservation. They took their bikes behind a fenced area while deciding what direction to travel in order to set up a camp for the night. Both related that they were low on fuel and unsure if they were allowed to be at the land they were on,” according to the criminal complaint filed in federal court.
While trying to figure out what to do, a pickup truck pulled up and a man yelled at them to get on the ground.
“They were ordered to put their faces to the ground. The victims both explained that the man had told them they were on federal Indian land, and that they were trespassing. They were also told that laws did not apply since they were on Indian land,” the charges state. “(The victims) explained that when they tried to lift their heads up, they were ordered to put their faces to the ground or they would have their faces kicked.”
A second man later arrived, and the motorcyclists “had their hands zip-tied behind their backs and their ankles zip-tied together,” the charges state. The second man also allegedly threatened the victims with a knife and, at one point, held the knife to the neck of one of the men.
“Throughout this detention, multiple threats were made to the men, including statements regarding putting them in a bunker for weeks or months with a jug of water or burying them in holes that they had dug for their bodies. They were also told that the police had been called, but later told that the police were too far and weren’t coming,” the complaint states.
A friend of Allen called Tooele County emergency dispatchers to tell them that Allen had detained two men, according to the charges. Court documents do not say whether the friend who called police was the second man at the scene.
The two victims were forced to “turn off tracking on their phones” and were then loaded into the pickup truck that then sped off at over 100 mph until it reached a remote location in the west desert.
“They were left in a remote location to fend for themselves. (The men) attempted to go back to where their bikes were but did not locate them. They then had to walk over 10 miles for help from the Dugway Proving Ground gate guards in a hike they described as taking six or seven hours,” according to court documents.
In addition to having their motorcycles stolen, their wallets, phones, a tablet, a gun, camera equipment and GoPros were also taken from them, investigators say.
After FBI agents contacted the victims, it was learned that one of the missing motorcycles had an AirTag on it. Agents were “able to geolocate the device to the maintenance shed located on Skull Valley Indian Reservation Road,” the charges state.
While FBI agents were at the shed, Allen showed up and admitted to being with “trespassers” the night before “and compared the seizure of their motorcycles to private apartment complexes calling for vehicles to be impounded,” according to charging documents.
On Sunday, a federal search warrant was served on the shed where the motorcycles and camera equipment were found. One of the victims later told agents that his phone had “gone live” and was pinging at an address in Tooele, which was determined to be Allen’s residence, the charges state.
“This fact contradicts the suggestion by Allen that he and his companion were acting at the behest of the tribe to seize and impound property pursuant to their perception of tribal law, and that all of the seized materials were in the shed,” according to the charges.
During their investigation, agents also recovered text messages between Allen and another resident in the home in which Allen “recounted … some of the events of the night prior, including tying the victims up and taking their bikes. Allen (messaged) that he had prepared a bunker to keep captives in. He stated the victims were lucky this time because the police had already been called,” the charges state.
An initial appearance is scheduled for Allen in federal court on Thursday. As of Wednesday, no other arrests had been made.
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