GREEN RIVER, Utah — A man was arrested at a Green River gas station last week after a female victim left a note that said she was being held against her will.
Richard Phillips, 38, was arrested on June 20 and faces multiple charges, including kidnapping.
According to the arrest report, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper was notified of the note from the unidentified woman and located a vehicle traveling eastbound from the Salina area on Interstate 70. The trooper followed as the vehicle driven by Phillips stopped at the Love's station in Green River.
When the trooper approached Phillips, he smelled marijuana and "was shown a red solo type cup that was in the center console which had burnt marijuana cigarette inside it," the report stated.
The trooper believed Phillips was going to flee the area when asked to move his vehicle to a different area until an Emery County Sheriff's Office deputy blocked his path.
Phillips was taken into custody after a brief standoff.
Outside the gas station, a woman approached the trooper and handed him a note she had received from the victim while both were in the bathroom.
"The note asked the person to phone her daughter and call in the missing car and the suspect had her phone," according to the report.
Following interviews with Phillips and the victim, it was determined she was being held against her will and had been the subject of multiple assaults.
The victim told a detective she and Phillips were in a previous relationship but no longer together. She said that Phillips approached her as she was getting into her own vehicle outside a Michigan Walmart and told her "to drive him wherever he wanted to go."
Phillips allegedly forced the woman to drive him to Denver where she was assaulted before calling police. However, when officers arrived, Phillips had left the hotel with all the victim's belongings. When he returned, Phillips had her go to Las Vegas where they stayed for a couple of days.
After allegedly being assaulted again in Las Vegas, the woman said Phillips once again fled before police arrived. Phillips later returned and the two drove to Salt Lake City and stayed for multiple nights before returning to Las Vegas.
The victim told police that Phillips "was mentally and emotionally abusive" and took her phone, only letting him use it in his presence. When the two were on the road again in Utah, the woman said she left the note inside gas station restroom in Salina, and when another woman discovered the note, she informed police.
The woman claimed to have contacted police 32 times since November to report Phillips at her home.
