A bizarre series of events led to the arrest of a man for investigation of drug use and impersonation of a police officer and the recovery of a Nobel Peace Prize.
The rightful owner of the Peace Prize, Kay Miller, was delighted to reclaim her lost treasure. In 1985, Miller was on the board of directors of the American affiliate for the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. That year, she and her group were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a prestigious honor that comes to few.
"I am so thrilled," Miller said of the recovery of her prize, which was stolen in October. "I'm really glad to be getting it back."
Salt Lake County sheriff's investigators believe the theft may be attributed to Russell Gillett, 24, who involved police in a series of strange events Thursday, resulting in his arrest, a quick bail-out from jail and an ongoing search to get him back into custody. He reportedly lived in the basement of Miller's Salt Lake County home for a time.
"I thought he was a very nice young man. I was wrong," Miller said Friday when informed of the strange string of events. "I hope he gets whatever help he needs. I feel sorry for him. But obviously he needs to be punished for the harm he has caused to other people. I hope he can turn his life around."
Before he gets help, however, investigators need to find him — again.
The circus surrounding Gillett began Thursday morning when police were called to a possible domestic assault at his apartment. Gillett had been investigated earlier in the week for an incident in which witnesses heard shots fired. No one was injured, and no arrests were made.
Thursday, Gillett answered the door of his apartment near 2200 East and 4800 South but wouldn't let deputies in or let them talk to the female inside, said Salt Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Darren Carr. Because it was an active assault, deputies forced their way in and handcuffed Gillett despite his efforts to resist and to push them out, Carr said.
Gillett, who was wearing a black shirt with big white letters reading "K9 Police," started yelling at officers that they couldn't arrest him because he was an officer, Carr said. A little later, in an even more bizarre turn, Gillett began "ramming his head as hard as he could" against the tile countertop in his kitchen, Carr said. When deputies took him to the ground to stop him from hurting himself, he continued banging his head on the tile floor, he said.
"He starts getting crazy," Carr said. "He's like a maniac. He's calm one minute, out of control the next, then apologetic. ... He's all over the place."
Investigators suspected Gillett was high on drugs at the time. Paramedics registered his heart rate at 160 beats per minute, more than twice a normal resting rate. He was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of impersonating a police officer, disorderly conduct and carrying a concealed weapon (brass knuckles.)
To this point, there was no sign of a Nobel Prize. But after Gillett was taken to jail, the string of unlikely events continued. The man who called police on Gillett, a neighbor, asked Gillett's 17-year-old girlfriend if she would drive him in Gillett's car to Adult Probation and Parole so he could see his probation officer, Carr said. After he arrived at the AP&P offices, the man discovered a gun in the trunk of the car and he told officers about it.
Both Salt Lake City police and Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies were called to look at the rest of the items in the trunk. In addition to a gun, Carr said, officers found dozens of drivers' licenses, IDs and other items associated with identity theft. But what really caught investigators off guard was the Nobel Peace Prize in the trunk.
While all this was going on, Gillett called his mother from jail and convinced her that people were breaking into his apartment and that he needed to get out of jail, Carr said. She bailed him out on his misdemeanor charges before investigators could file the additional, more serious, charges for the stolen items, which would have raised his bail.
After Gillett got out of jail, he went to the apartment of the man who originally called the sheriff's office. Witnesses say he showed up with a metal bat and yelled through the door, "I'm going to get you," Carr said. The man was not home and is staying elsewhere until Gillett is caught again, Carr said.
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com