SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC4 News) A man, previously convicted of child sex crimes, was arrested after police say he assaulted a college campus guard near a daycare and was found to have hidden drugs inside a stroller he was pushing.
Jason Newton, 45, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Wednesday on charges of assaulting a school employee, failing to register as a sex offender, drug possession, and a first-degree felony drug possession enhancement.
Police were called on Wednesday to the daycare located at the Salt Lake Community College at 1700 South State Street after a campus security officer had told Newton he needed to leave campus but he refused, telling the guard he was the one who needed to leave.
Newton then attempted to hit the guard with a four-foot stick. In return, the guard deployed his pepper spray, to which Newton, who was sprayed on his upper body area, fled the scene, documents state.
Newton was later located near 1850 North 200 East and was detained by Utah Highway Patrol. Methamphetamine was found in a stroller that Newton had in his possession when he was detained.
Newton, currently listed as homeless, has been in and out of prison since 1997 after being sentenced in an aggravated assault case. In 2000, Newton was convicted of two counts of felony child sex abuse. He has multiple other charges including failing to register as a sex offender, possession of a weapon by a restricted person, as well as several cases of drug possession, theft, and criminal trespassing.
