Man accused of brutally beating security guard during carjacking facing federal charges

SALT LAKE CITY — A man accused of brutally beating a security guard during a carjacking attack in Salt Lake City is facing federal charges.

Gwen Manot Scholl Agake, 22, also known as John Agake, was indicted in U.S. District Court on a charge of carjacking. He is accused of attempting to steal a vehicle and violently attacking the car's owner on July 6.

The alleged victim was working as a security guard for Rocky Mountain Power at 1401 W. West Temple, just after 3 a.m., when he noticed a light coming from his parked vehicle, the charges said. The man approached his car and found Agake inside.

Agake then allegedly brandished a long metal bar and demanded the vehicle's keys. The victim refused, and Agake started swinging the metal bar, hitting the victim in the head and shoulders while demanding the keys again, the charges said. The man ran into the nearby building, but Agake followed and continued to assault the man, police said.

"While beating the victim, Agake continued to demand the keys and yelled 'you should have given me the keys' and 'you shouldn't have called the cops,'" a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office of Utah said.

The victim suffered severe injuries to his head, face and body. The attack was captured by surveillance footage from both inside and outside the building, the charges said. A co-worker of the victim witnessed the attack on the surveillance video and called police.

"As the victim lay bloodied on the ground, the defendant exited the building by breaking out a large window with the metal bar, causing an injury to his arm and leaving a trail of blood," the charges said.

Police arrived and located Agake nearby by following the trail of blood to a nearby business where he was hiding. The weapon was not located, charges said.

Agake is a lawful permanent resident from Egypt who was living in Salt Lake City, according to court documents. Prosecutors explained he has applied for citizenship, but his application is now on hold due to the federal indictment.

Agake was initially charged in Utah's 3rd District Court with aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary, first-degree felonies, and aggravated assault resulting in serious injury, a second-degree felony, but the case was dismissed when he was federally indicted for the incident, according to court records. Prosecutors said Agake has no employment history and has a drug addiction.

Agake was ordered to be detained pending his trial scheduled for October, as he was deemed "an unmanageable risk" by a U.S. magistrate judge, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office of Utah.

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