CEDAR CITY, Utah — Sheriff deputies from Washington County arrested former Iron County Republican Party chairman Blake Floyd Cozzens, 36, for allegedly kidnapping and abusing his wife.
A Washington County judge issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for Cozzen. Cozzens, the son of Iron County Commissioner Paul Cozzens, was then hospitalized after what his family described as a suicide attempt.
He was arrested just before 2 p.m. Saturday after he was discharged from Cedar City Hospital.
Along with the Washington County charges, he was placed on a federal hold after U.S. attorneys said he has violated conditions before his release pending sentencing after he pleaded guilty in March to embezzling $2.1 million from a homeowners association he managed. A federal hearing on charges of violating his release will take place Monday in St. George.
According to court documents and a report from the Utah Highway Patrol, the charges stem from an incident on Interstate 15 near New Harmony on July 1, in which Cozzens was driving his wife Dannilyn and their 3-year-old daughter.
"So they were on the highway headed back from St. George and Blake started to get violent, took her phone from her when she started to record, threw it in the back of the car towards the baby, then pulled over kicked her out on the side of the road, on the highway, on I-15, and took off with the child," William Palmer said.
Palmer, who represents Dannilyn Cozzens, has supplied FOX 13 with several videos, including footage showing what he says is the moment Blake Cozzens snatched the phone.
Palmer says along with physical threats, Blake has threatened his wife, who is in the U.S. on a spouse visa from the Philippines, with deportation.
We were also supplied a video of another incident on Sept. 11 at the America's Best Value Inn in Cedar City a day after Dannilyn filed for divorce. A federal court document describes an SUV driving up and Blake Cozzens coming out. He is said to have then grabbed the child from his father-in-law, David Milberger, while his wife met with an immigration attorney in the hotel. According to the document, after a brief scuffle where Milberger hit Cozzens with a cane, Cozzens put the child in the SUV and left.
Palmer said there are no charges in this incident because there were no custody orders concerning the child. However, Iron County prosecutors have charged the father-in-law with assault.
He says that after Blake and his family initially tracked her to a women's crisis center in Cedar City and harassed her, Dannilyn and the child are now in an undisclosed location.
"She is very much scared for her safety," Palmer said. "She's just happy to be safe and in a place where no one will find her. And they've tried. They've tried to find her. They have people following her family right now."
In emails to FOX 13 sent by Blake Cozzens on Wednesday before he ended up in the hospital, he said his wife has not been under duress or stalked and accuses federal and local agents of violating his constitutional rights. He supplied his own video showing his wife willingly entering a car with him and his mother, Mary, on the same September day as the incident at the hotel.
Mary Cozzens confirmed to FOX 13 that the emails were from her son and said she was concerned for her son's health, but would make no other comment. We also reached out to his father, Paul Cozzens, who did not respond.
This isn't Blake's first legal trouble.
In 2018, he pleaded guilty and got a year's probation after a prostitution sting caught him trying to pay $1,000 for sex.
In March, he agreed to a deal with federal prosecutors and pleaded guilty to taking $2.1 million from a homeowners association. While in jail, Paul Cozzens publicly apologized after Cedar City officials found that he pressured his son's jailers for special treatment.
At the time, as part of the guilty plea, federal prosecutors were not recommending additional jail time for Cozzens in sentencing scheduled for December. He was released in April to recuperate after having testicular cancer removed.
He had that release revoked and was returned to jail on Oct. 3 after the feds said he violated his probation based on the July and September incidents. He was released again a day later with a monitoring bracelet.
Residents of the Cedar Bend townhome complex he took millions from say he still hasn't paid the price for past crimes. As part of his plea deal, he is paying restitution but doesn't have to pay more than $5 per month, according to documents.
"There's one ticked off veteran right now," Drew Lorentzen said. "I didn't spend 59 months in the Middle East to come back over here and have some clown do this to me. There needs to be accountability.”
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Resources for domestic violence victims/prevention (free, 24/7, confidential):
- Utah Domestic Violence Coalition
- Hotline: 1-800-897-LINK (5465)
- Online help: udvc.org
- National Domestic Violence Hotline
- 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
- Online live chat: thehotline.org
- If you or someone else is in immediate danger, or in an emergency, call 9-1-1 immediately.
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For those struggling with thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can now be reached by simply dialing 988 any time for free support. Resources are also available online at utahsuicideprevention.org.
