Midvale man sentenced after choking an officer during a struggle

MIDVALE, Utah (ABC4) — A Midvale man accused of choking a police officer during a struggle in his apartment will now serve up to 15 years in state prison.

Ruben Serna, 43, was taken into custody in August 2024 after he had consumed about 30 beers and began acting “violent and erratic.” Police were called to the scene by the victim when Serna would not let her leave a corner of their kitchen and grabbed her by the neck.

Prosecutors said when police arrived, Serna tried to shut the door on them.

“An officer was able to get inside the home and attempted to take the defendant to the ground. However, the officer felt the defendant reach for her firearm and place his hand on her holster,” the Salt Lake District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “The defendant then grabbed the officer by the throat and began to squeeze, making it so the officer was unable to speak and had difficulty breathing.”

Serna was reportedly tased multiple times before he was safely taken into custody.

In February 2025, the defendant pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree felony kidnapping, one count of second-degree felony attempted disarming a police officer, one count of third-degree felony assault on a peace officer producing injury and one count of third-degree felony violation of a pretrial protective order.

A Third District Court judge sentenced Serna to a minimum of one year with a maximum of 15 years in prison for the second-degree felony kidnapping. All other sentences for Serna’s other charges will run concurrently to the kidnapping.

“We applaud this victim-survivor for recognizing the danger of her situation and calling the police to help intervene before the situation escalated,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “We appreciate the danger these police officers were willing to put themselves in to protect not only the victim-survivor but her children as well.”