By Tracie Sullivan, Iron County Today
Enoch police arrested a man for allegedly making threats to kill his 4-year-old daughter and himself and warned he would shoot officers if they responded to his home.
Brandon Robert Macdonald, 28, was booked into the Iron County Jail early Friday on a third-degree felony count of prohibited dangerous weapon conduct involving a firearm and several misdemeanor counts of threat of violence and reckless endangerment.
According to charging documents, Enoch City Police received a request for a welfare check shortly after 1 a.m. Friday at a home in the 4900 block of North Bald Eagle Drive. The complainant, identified in the affidavit as the suspect’s mother, asked officers to follow up with her before contacting anyone at the residence.
The mother told police her son was “heavily armed” and was threatening the life of his daughter and himself.
She said that since October, Macdonald had made numerous statements about killing his daughter. She reported he told her he would not feed the child and that they would go hungry, that he would take her into the mountains and leave her, and that he had destroyed her toys in front of her.
During a recorded call, she said she heard Macdonald rack a firearm followed by muffled sounds as he “stuck it in his mouth.”
”The mother also reported hearing a child crying in the background,” the affidavit states.
Officers reviewed the recording and confirmed they heard Macdonald making homicidal and suicidal statements, the affidavit states. Police also reported the threats were ongoing, noting the call between Macdonald and his mother ended and he called back.
The affidavit states Macdonald repeatedly told his mother that if she hung up, he would kill the child and then himself.
Due to the seriousness of the situation, the Iron Metro SWAT team was mobilized to secure Macdonald and his daughter.
As SWAT members took Macdonald into custody and secured the child as they exited the front of the home, officers reported smelling the odor of burnt marijuana coming from Macdonald and the residence.
Police obtained a second search warrant for firearms and illegal controlled substances. During the search, officers reported locating a green leafy substance consistent with marijuana, along with firearms and firearm accessories and ammunition.
Macdonald was later interviewed at the Enoch City Police Department, according to the affidavit.
During the interview, Macdonald acknowledged making threats to kill himself. However, he disputed making threats against his daughter or law enforcement, according to the affidavit.
He later told investigators the statements he made were “stupid” and said he should not have made them.
Macdonald also allegedly told officers there would be marijuana in the home. He denied it was his but admitted he had smoked marijuana within the last few days, the affidavit states.