Man arrested after holding three people hostage inside Price home

PRICE, Utah (ABC4) — A man is facing multiple felony charges after he allegedly held three people hostage in a Price home on Friday, forcing a multi-agency response.

According to court documents, Rogelio Bustillos, 52, first broke into the residence Thursday night, waking up one of the victims by shaking him and pointing a gun at him. Bustillos demanded the victim tell him if he was sleeping with his wife. The victim denied this, and Bustillos accepted the answer and left the residence.

The next morning, Bustillos returned to the residence seeking the first victim from the night before, but they were not there. A second victim was lying in bed at the time, and Bustillos woke them up at gunpoint and forced them into the living room.

During this, Bustillos and the second victim walked past a door where a third victim was sleeping. Bustillos then kicked down the door, forcing the second victim into the room with the third. He then pointed the gun at both victims, demanding to know where Bustillos’ wife was and accusing both male victims of sleeping with her.

A fourth person in the home heard what was happening and walked toward the third victims’ bedroom. Bustillos pointed the weapon at the fourth victim and forced them into the bedroom with the other two.

Bustillos continued to demand why all three men were sleeping with his wife and where she was, saying he would kill them. After two hours, Bustillos receives a phone call from another party, and the victims overheard the caller tell Bustillos to “let them live, leave them alone,” and to “go home and get some sleep.”

Bustillos then tells the victims to turn off their phones and get on their bicycles and ride to where the victims worked. Bustillos added that he would kill them if they called for help on their way there and would “get into a shootout with the cops” if any police were visible.

Once the victims arrived at their work, Bustillos left the area and fled towards Wellington. The victims called police and told them of what happened, leading to a search for Bustillos in Carbon and Emery counties from multiple agencies.

Authorities located Bustillos’ car later in the afternoon in a hilly area between Helper and Price. They then located Bustillos, and he was taken into custody without incident. While being arrested, he reportedly told police “I was going to turn myself in.” During transport to jail, Bustillos added “I know I did it, I was waiting for you guys to find me.”

Officers searched Bustillos’ vehicle and found two firearms, one being a handgun and the other being a long-range, high-powered hunting rifle. They also found 16 grams of cocaine. While being booked into jail, a small vile of powder was found on Bustillos’ person, who then stated “Oh, that’s my cocaine, just throw that out.”

Bustillos was booked into the Carbon County jail on 16 counts, which include:

• Three counts of aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony
• Two counts of aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony
• Three counts of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony
• One count of aggravated commercial obstruction, a second-degree felony
• Three counts of damaging or interrupting a communication device, a misdemeanor
• One count of possession of a controlled substance within a correctional facility, a third-degree felony
• One count of possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor
• Two counts of prohibited dangerous weapon conduct, a third-degree felony

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