LOGAN — A 50-year-old Logan man has admitted to assaulting a woman during a domestic violence incident in July.
According to court records, Renan Alberto Alvarez appeared Sept. 28 in Logan’s 1st District Court. He accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to third-degree felony counts of aggravated assault, domestic violence in the presence of a child, and property damage, alongside a class B misdemeanor for drug possession. As part of the agreement, nine remaining charges, including first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping, were dismissed.
According to prosecutors, the incident began July 8 when Alvarez became frustrated while working from home. A woman at the residence attempted to calm him, but Alvarez threw a cellphone at her and began strangling her. When she instructed a child in the room to call 911, Alvarez intercepted the call and broke the phone.
Police reported Alvarez then choked the woman a second time before fleeing to the garage with an infant. He told the woman, “If you don’t want me to hurt him, open the door,” before driving his vehicle through the garage door while holding the baby. The woman was hospitalized for her injuries, and officers later discovered drug paraphernalia in a bag Alvarez left behind.
For three weeks, Alvarez’s whereabouts remained unknown to law enforcement. The victim contacted authorities after Alvarez used his cellphone to text and call her sister, threatening to flee the state with the infant unless he received $6,000 in cash.
Investigators tracked Alvarez using cellphone GPS data and spotted his vehicle in Logan. Police monitored a coordinated exchange at a designated location, where the woman traded cash and Alvarez’s belongings for the safe return of the infant. Officers moved in and apprehended Alvarez immediately following the transaction.
During police questioning, Alvarez denied strangling the woman and said he never threatened to harm the infant. However, court documents note he admitted to using marijuana and driving away with the infant without a child restraint device. Records also revealed Alvarez did not possess a valid driver’s license.
Alvarez remains held without bail in the Cache County Jail. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 9.