RIVERTON — A man who police say assaulted his current wife before locking his ex-wife and son in a basement bathroom was arrested after a SWAT team broke down his door.
The wild incident began Wednesday night at a Holladay residence when investigators say Philip Sherman, 31, was confronted by his wife who asked him about a woman who claimed they had been "talking to one another," a Salt Lake County Jail report states.
The discussion escalated into an argument and ended when Sherman strangled his wife and punched her in the face several times, causing a broken orbital socket, broken nose, possible broken jaw and causing her to temporarily lost consciousness, according to the report.
Sherman left the house with his 12-year-old son and called his ex-wife, the boy's mother, to tell her she needed to pick him up. Police say Sherman went to his home in Riverton that had been foreclosed.
When she got there, the ex-wife sent a text message to Sherman's sister about possible trouble. The sister contacted police to conduct a welfare check on the house, said Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal. When officers arrived, Sherman covered the windows so they couldn't look inside and he refused to answer the door, the report states.
As a hostage negotiator was called to the scene, Sherman locked his ex-wife and son in a basement bathroom, Hoyal said. Police were able to contact the ex-wife through texting. Complicating the scenario, the son has epilepsy that can be triggered by stressful situations, according to the report.
A SWAT team was called to surround the house because of the possibility of weapons being inside. "Due to exigent circumstances," SWAT team members decided to break down the front door and enter, Hoyal said. Sherman immediately surrendered at that point.
He was booked into jail for investigation of two counts of aggravated assault, three counts of domestic violence in the presence of children, kidnapping and child kidnapping.
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