DRAPER — A man who police say threatened to kill his family and then cut off the head of a Draper judge was arrested Wednesday.
Joshua Jonathon Webber, 24, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of "influencing, impeding or retaliating against a judge or member of the Board of Pardons and Parole."
According to a Salt Lake County Jail report, one of Webber's friends, who is described as a "colleague in the Army," contacted police after Webber sent him private Facebook messages that he wanted to kill his own family and "cut the head off the Draper city judge." The friend took screen shots of the conversation and sent them to police, the report stated.
Draper Police Sgt. Chad Carpenter could not confirm Thursday whether Webber actually had any ties to the U.S. Army.
Detectives went looking for Webber and spotted him in the passenger seat of a vehicle. They stopped the car near 2000 S. Bangerter Highway about 8 p.m. Wednesday, according to the report. During subsequent questioning, Webber admitted to sending the messages, the report stated.
Carpenter did not know Thursday if any weapons had been seized or if Webber had any access to weapons. But he said any threats to kill people are taken very seriously by his department. Whether Webber's threats to cut off the head of a judge were credible, Carpenter could not say.
"Our hope is that (Webber) gets help," Carpenter said.
In October 2013, Webber pleaded guilty in Draper Justice Court to misdemeanor drug possession, according to court records. He was placed on probation and ordered to be drug tested at least once each month for a year, court records stated. But a warrant was issued for his arrest last month when he failed to show up for a court hearing.
In 2010, Webber was convicted of assault on a police officer and assault on a health care provider, both misdemeanor charges. He was placed on probation and as part of his sentence ordered to undergo drug and mental health treatment, according to court records.
Webber was convicted of criminal mischief, a class B misdemeanor, in 2013 in a case that involved domestic violence, according to court records.
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