LOGAN — A Salt Lake City man has pleaded guilty to multiple felony charges after police say he choked a woman, threatened her with a knife and fought with responding officers. Jacob Robert Rickabaugh, 43, has been in the Cache County Jail since being arrested March 21.
According to court records, Rickabaugh appeared May 26 in 1st District Court in Logan. He accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to attempted aggravated kidnapping, attempted aggravated burglary and aggravated assault, all amended to third-degree felonies. As part of the resolution, six remaining charges were dismissed.
According to prosecutors, Logan police officers were dispatched to an apartment near 650 S. 100 East following reports of a domestic dispute. A caller reported being on the phone with the victim when Rickabaugh reportedly began choking the woman and took her phone. The caller also noted the defendant threatened to go to her house and set it on fire. Additionally, upstairs neighbors called dispatch to report hearing the victim screaming at the Salt Lake City man to get off her.
When officers arrived, Rickabaugh answered the door and was immediately belligerent. The victim, visibly distraught in the background, mouthed to officers that the suspect had a knife and pointed to his concealed arm. Officers quickly moved to detain him, resulting in a physical altercation where Rickabaugh actively resisted and attempted to assault police. The victim later told police that Rickabaugh was holding a knife and stated he intended to use it against law enforcement because he did not want to return to prison.
According to charging documents, the victim was attempting to break up with Rickabaugh, who had been staying with her since his recent release from prison. He became violent after discovering she used a dating website while he was incarcerated. Police say the defendant choked the woman with her sweatshirt hood, restricting her breathing and leaving visible red marks. He also held a knife near her, threatening to slit her ex-husband’s throat if she tried to leave the residence.
During the dispute, Rickabaugh stabbed the apartment wall and a television with a knife and dumped the contents of kitchen drawers onto the floor.
Rickabaugh continued to physically resist and fight with Cache County sheriff’s deputies and medical staff upon arriving at the jail. He was placed in an intake cell, where he loudly slammed his head and fists against the walls.
A sentencing hearing for Rickabaugh has been scheduled for July 6. He remains in jail without bail.