Draper man accused of attacking man with knife, setting him on fire

DRAPER — A man with a violent past was arrested Wednesday in connection with a brutal assault that happened in October, when police say a man walking to work was stabbed, sexually assaulted and set on fire.

Robert Reins, 52, is being held without bail for investigation of attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated assault producing loss of consciousness after a months-long investigation, court documents say.

On Oct. 1, about midnight, a man was walking from the Kimball's Lane TRAX station in Draper down 700 East to his job at a fast food restaurant on 12300 South, according to a police booking affidavit.

The man passed an empty field to the west, when a deer came out of nowhere, the affidavit said, startling him. He spoke a few words of Spanish in surprise, when he heard a stranger say, "What?" and "repeat what you said," the initial police booking report says.

The man told police he wanted to avoid confrontation and continued walking to work, telling the stranger he didn't speak English, when the attacker came up behind him, "putting his arm around his throat in a 'chokehold,'" while slicing him with a knife on the right side of his body, according to the booking report.

After some wrestling, "he was then pushed on the ground onto his stomach," where some of his clothes were ripped off and he was sexually assaulted, the affidavit says.

The victim told police "he must have passed out or have been knocked out" from a blow to the back of the head, according to the booking report, but "the pain of burning woke him up ... he realized he was set on fire."

He was taken by first responders from the Draper Fire Department to a hospital, where "he was treated for his significant injuries sustained in the attack," according to the affidavit.

Investigators with Draper police say they found multiple cigarette butts, an empty energy drink can and a beer can at the scene of the alleged attack, the booking report says.

The victim described a suspect in following interviews as "a tall male, wearing no shirt and with a longer beard, short on the sides and a longer goatee ... appeared to be in his 50s and hairy and smelled of tobacco," according to the affidavit. A sketch, containing "very distinctive characteristics" was made on Oct. 17 by an artist from the attorney general's office, according to the booking report, and disseminated to local police.

On New Year's Eve, the affidavit says Draper police made contact with "a local homeless male" bearing "a strong resemblance to the sketch," acting erratically and "threatening violence" outside a 7-Eleven convenience store at 692 E. 12300 South, just a block from where the alleged October attack took place.

The man, later identified as Robert Reins, has had multiple warrants and interactions with police, and, on one occasion in late October, allegedly approached a man on a TRAX station aggressively before being pepper sprayed, according to the booking report.

Police brought the victim of the Oct. 1 incident in on Tuesday, the affidavit says, and he picked Reins out of a photo lineup, saying "he was 90% sure that was the suspect who attacked him." Reins was detained and brought into the Draper Police Department for questioning Tuesday after he was seen at the same 7-Eleven convenience store, according to the booking report.

When Reins was detained, police say they collected a cigarette he was smoking and his water bottle to test for DNA and compare with items taken from the scene in October.

During an interview at the Draper Police Station, the affidavit says, "It became very apparent (Reins) is possibly suffering from an undiagnosed mental health issue," with answers disconnected from reality, or exploding in rage without warning.

No charges have been filed, and Reins is being held without bail in the Salt Lake County Jail.

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