- Ogden authorities are lauding the role of Ogden police in arresting suspects wanted in connection with two out-of-state killings.
- Ogden officials on Sunday detained Randy Jenks, wanted in the killing of his grandmother in Wisconsin.
- An Ogden officer spotted Ziaire Ham in Ogden on March 3 and the man, suspected in a double homicide in Nevada, was arrested in Roy.
OGDEN — In the last week, Ogden police have helped track down two suspects wanted outside of Utah in connection with separate homicides, which has Chief Jake Sube lauding the efforts of local law enforcement.
"Ogden is not a place where violent criminals come to run, hide or blend in. If you victimize people and come here to hide, we will find you," he said in a social media post Tuesday.
In the most recent case, Ogden officials on Sunday arrested Randy Darius Jenks, 36, wanted in Mount Morris, Wisconsin, in connection with the death of his grandmother. The woman's body had been discovered that same day at her Wisconsin home, according to court papers filed in 2nd District Court in Ogden as part of Jenks' arrest accusing him of being a fugitive from justice.
On March 3, police arrested Ziaire Jacob Ham, 22, who is charged in Las Vegas with murder in the killing of a woman and a toddler, according to court papers and Sube's statement. Ham had been spotted in Ogden by an Ogden officer and subsequently fled to Roy, where he was arrested.
"The arrest of these two individuals reflects exactly how we protect Ogden every day. We use technology, relentless police work and coordinated action with our regional partners to find violent offenders, take them into custody and deliver them to justice," Sube said.
Ogden Mayor Ben Nadolski echoed Sube's comments. "Ogden is not a hiding place," he said.
Waushara County, Wisconsin, law enforcement officials found a dead woman on Sunday at a Mount Morris home. Jenks "admitted to multiple family members" that he had stabbed the woman in the neck and killed her, and then drove to Ogden, according to court papers filed in Ogden. Wisconsin authorities alerted Ogden officials, who were also alerted on Sunday by the man's family here that he was in their home.
"Randy Jenks was located and taken into custody and officers noted the presence of blood on Randy's person and clothing," court documents state. Police body camera footage posted to the Ogden Police Department Facebook page shows Jenks surrendering to officers.
According to WLUK, a Green Bay, Wisconsin TV station, Jenks faces a count in Wisconsin of first-degree intentional homicide. The court papers filed in Ogden say Jenks confessed to killing his grandma, complaining that the woman "pushed him too far." A bloody folding knife found in the Ogden home where Jenks had fled to is the weapon he used to kill the woman, with whom he lived, the charges allege.
In the Ham case, an Ogden officer on March 3 spotted a car that had been reported stolen out of Phoenix, Arizona, with Ham inside, driving. The officer attempted to pull him over, but Ham fled, eventually making it to Roy and abandoning his car. Authorities arrested him nearby.
Ham is charged in 2nd District Court with theft by receiving stolen property, a second-degree felony; failure to respond to an officer's signal to stop, a third-degree felony; and reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor. According to court papers filed Tuesday, he has waived extradition to Las Vegas. Sube's statement on Tuesday said Ham confessed to the killings in Nevada when interviewed by Ogden detectives.
Authorities said they thought Ham had discarded a gun somewhere between Ogden and Roy. Ogden police said Saturday that the gun had been located.
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Tim Vandenack
