Highlights:
- A man got arrested on a creek near the Prairie View Estates subdivision.
- Cops say that he was holding a handgun.
- He entered the second house and held a man as a hostage.
- Finally, the cops arrested him when he entered the third home and threatened the cops that he had a hand grenade.
Inside Story
On August 14, 2018, the Box Elder Police Department responded to a call from a person who reported that a man carrying a backpack was spotted walking on a creek near the Prairie View Estates subdivision. The caller phoned 911 around 9:30 am. Officers Gene Lansdowne and Joshua Campbell found a man named Justin Littrell, holding a .38 caliber Jimenez Arms semi-automatic pistol in his hand. Littrell saw the cops and entered a nearby house, then he ran towards the second home and shot three times. He continued to make his way towards the house.
A couple in the second house heard the gunshots, and they rushed towards their garage, but before they could open the door, the suspect unlocked it and pointed the handgun at the man. The male victim asked the suspect to let his wife go, and he agreed but demanded the male to come inside the garage.
Next, he told the cops that he had hostages and tried to flee from them. Then he ran from the cops and broke the basement window of the third house and entered it. Luckily, the girl inside her bedroom escaped before Littrell took her as a hostage.
The law enforcement surrounded the house so that they could capture him. Littrell said to the cops that he would shoot hostages if they did not leave. He also said that he had hand grenades. A Negotiator negotiated with Littrell, and he decided to leave the house at 12:30 pm.
Investigation Report
On August 17, the court sentenced Justin Littrell with 105 years in jail for charges like a three-hour 2018 Box Elder crime spree. Other charges include breaking into three houses, first degree attempted kidnapping, shooting a police officer, and two counts of first-degree burglary. He admitted all his crimes. Judge Heidi Lindgren sentenced Littrell in jail for 20 years each on the four other charges and 25 years in prison for the attempted kidnapping charge.
The judge also ordered the defendant to serve all the sentences for 105 years. According to the plea deal, the court dropped other criminal charges, or else they could have sentenced him for a lifetime in jail without parole. Attorney Wickre asked the judge to give a sentence to her client that would give him a chance to get out of jail and have a life on parole.
Final Words
After the incident, Senior Deputy Tana Tallon and Deputy Rusty Schmidt received a national award for rescuing a 10 years old kid from the third home. Two ministers said that they noticed an improvement in Littrell, and in these two years, he has become a spiritual adviser among the inmates in the Pennington County Jail. Moreover, he felt sad about what he did to those victims. We hope he continues to be a good person and has a positive influence on others in the future.
Stay tuned for more news.
