UPDATED: Ogden police: Suspect in Utah County stabbing shot, killed during arrest attempt
OGDEN — Law enforcement officials have released additional details regarding the death of a man shot by officers Sunday in Riverdale.
During a press conference Tuesday, Ogden Police Chief Eric Young said William Marvin Toon, 28, of Highland — the suspect in a stabbing that occurred in Pleasant Grove in December — was shot and killed by officers Sunday afternoon during an attempted apprehension in a convenience store in the 700 block of West Riverdale Road.
Young described the attempted arrest as multi-jurisdictional, involving members of the Weber-Morgan Narcotic Strike Force, Ogden Metro Gang Unit and the Utah County Major Crimes Unit.
He said Sunday’s deadly altercation ultimately extends back to an incident on Dec. 10.
“Mr. Toon stabbed an individual in Pleasant Grove,” Young said. “The individual survived, but the stabbing was actually caught on a video from a bystander from the party.”
Young said investigators in Utah County had been unable to locate Toon and believed he had left the state for some time.
“Friday of last week, they received information that Mr. Toon was back in Utah County in Highland at a residence that was listed as his house,” Young said. “They attempted to arrest Mr. Toon at that time and he fled in a vehicle which resulted in a long, high-speed chase. They were unable to catch him at that time.”
Young said that, as the investigation continued, it came to light that Toon may be at an address in Weber County, prompting the Utah County Major Crimes Unit to reach out to the Weber-Morgan Narcotic Strike Force about assisting them in arresting Toon.
“Investigators from our narcotics task force and our gang unit cooperated to gather information on the residence he was frequenting and his vehicle to try and safely get him into custody,” Young said.
He said a second attempt was made the next day to arrest Toon.
“Officers from the South Ogden Police Department observing this house where they believed (Toon) to be frequenting saw the individual leaving the area in a vehicle on Saturday night,” he said. “They tried to stop the individual. The suspect again fled and led to another very high-speed, dangerous chase.”
Young said the second chase extended all the way to Kaysville but officers were once again unsuccessful in stopping him.
On Sunday, Young said, law enforcement located the vehicle Toon had been in being driven by another person at the Riverdale convenience store around 3:42 p.m.
“Mr. Toon was walking into the store, the other individual was in the driver’s side of the vehicle,” Young said. “They were able to pin the vehicle in so the vehicle could not flee this time. One of the detectives secured the driver. Several of the officers and agents from Ogden City and Utah County went inside the store to try and safely apprehend Mr. Toon. Mr. Toon did not cooperate with our efforts to be taken into custody. Something took place inside the store that resulted in Mr. Toon being shot several times by three officers from the Ogden Police Department and one officer from the Pleasant Grove Police Department. He was rendered medical assistance on scene but he was deceased on scene.”
No other gun was recovered at the scene, Young said, but he explained that he didn’t have full details of what happened in the store and what led officers shoot Toon. He added that officers from the Weber-Morgan Narcotic Strike Force and the Ogden Metro Gang Unit aren’t equipped with body-worn cameras, a practice he said is common among similar units across the state and is largely due to the nature of their work.
“Several of our task forces across the state, including the one here in Ogden/Weber, cooperate with federal entities including the FBI, Marshal Service, (Drug Enforcement Administration),” he said. “There’s been some very restrictive guidelines, historically, in working with body-worn cameras and federal entities. Those have since changed so we’re now working towards getting body-worn cameras for our gang officers who are cross-deputized as part of a federal task force. We anticipate they will have those very soon. Narcotics task forces, it’s a different kind of job where you do a lot of undercover work and interpersonal work with drug dealers. That’s a little more of a challenge to get those individuals to be able to utilize a body-worn camera.”
However, Young said some footage of the event is available and will be part of the follow up investigation.
“The detective from Pleasant Grove who was working with them to apprehend Mr. Toon was equipped with a body-worn camera,” he said. “This investigation has been turned over to the Weber County Officer Involved Critical Incident Protocol Team and they are managing the criminal investigation into this incident. That body-worn camera from Pleasant Grove along with footage from inside that convenience store will be made available to that investigation team as part of their criminal investigation.”
Young also said he did not have further information on the driver of the vehicle other than the man had been taken into custody, but a “significant amount of drugs and cash was found” while searching the vehicle.
According to Young, two employees and two customers also were present in the store at the time of the shooting. No injuries were reported among law enforcement or bystanders.
Young said the three Ogden officers and one from the Pleasant Grove are on paid administrative leave while the Weber County Officer Involved Critical Incident Protocol Team conducts an independent investigation into the incident.
Toon had an extensive criminal history that included convictions for drug charges, assault and arson in Utah, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Most recently, he was released from the Utah State Prison in late 2021 and finished parole in mid-2023.