OREM, Utah — Police in Orem are thanking social media followers for helping officers locate a man suspected of attacking another man while wielding a machete following a road rage incident in late November, and that suspect has been booked into jail.
According to the Orem Police Department, 49-year-old Kenneth Ross of Orem was arrested Tuesday at his home and subsequently booked into the Utah County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault as a second-degree felony.
The charge stems from an altercation on November 27 when Ross allegedly pursued another vehicle and then attacked the driver, hitting that man in the face with the machete. The attack was captured by surveillance cameras. The victim, Jason Harper, told FOX 13 News the gash across his face could have been much worse.
“He grabs the machete and pulls it out and swung at me,” Harper told FOX 13 News December 16. “…It hit me right here in the face, but I ducked. Luckily I ducked a little bit, and he caught me on the side of the cheek.”
Lt. Craig Martinez with the Orem Police Department said earlier this month that if the blade had struck Harper elsewhere, things could have been much worse.
"If he would have hit him a couple of inches lower maybe in the neck, we would be having a different conversation right now," Martinez said.
In their Facebook post Wednesday, Orem PD said the arrest was "thanks to our followers", and they ended with: "Thank you everyone for help in getting this man off the street!"
