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Murder suspect turns self in; family claims there was ‘no reason’ for SWAT response

Posted at 5:58 PM, Jun 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-06-09 10:56:40-04

MIDVALE, Utah -- A murder suspect ran from police only to turn himself in a few hours later.

On Wednesday, 19-year-old Keison Kuykendall gave himself up to the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office. He was almost arrested earlier in morning at a relative's house in Midvale.

"Mr. Kuykendall, after seeing the press reports, has decided to turn himself in and we are very pleased about the outcome, it's the safest and best outcome we could have hoped for," Sheriff Jim Winder said.

Kuykendall is being charged with the gang related murder of Darren Jackson in Holladay back on May 21.

A member of the gang task force originally saw Kuykendall around 1 a.m. Wednesday at a relative's home on 7800 South and Main Street.

"The detective had physical sight of him, without question was reliable, and we know he was there," Winder said.

The suspect was considered armed and dangerous, so back up was called in. SWAT Team members surrounded the house for hours, while a robot actually entered to investigate. However, once law enforcement actually went inside, the suspect was gone.

"We thought he had gone into the home, but it turns out he was never in the home: He had fled," Winder said.

Friends of the suspect believe he was never even on the property.

"He was not here today, he hasn't been around here for a week I'd say, so he definitely hasn't been here," friend Tanasha Boone said.

"We're not calling anybody liars, what we are saying is that the information we received seems reliable," Winder said.

Inside the house, broken windows and holes in the ceiling are left behind from the police search.

"We're all really mad because really there was no reason for it, they had no reason to do any of it," said Kuykendall's sister, Bralee Brice.

Winder said when someone is on the run from police, family and friends often get caught in the middle.

"As you are running, thinking all you are doing is protecting yourself, what you are really doing is going around and placing the entire community in jeopardy," Winder said.