For most of us, it's hard enough to navigate our daily grind while still remembering to check out the latest personal news bits on our social network of choice, but Jason Valdez of Utah has no such trouble. In fact, he was able to ward off Salt Lake City's finest SWAT officers, keep a young woman as his hostage, and update his Facebook all at the same time. He even went so far as to add a few new friends to his social network account during the scary ordeal.
After Salt Lake police had discovered Valdez was staying at a local hotel, they attempted to take him into custody on a felony drug charge. When Valdez saw the law closing in on him, he attempted to make a last stand at the Western Colony Inn, and began his string of Facebook updates. His first post read, "I'm currently in a standoff ...kinda ugly, but ready for whatever."
Over the next 16 hours, Valdez posted numerous additional updates, and even took photos of himself and the woman the police identified as his hostage. His friends and family posted dozens of replies, both urging him to stand down without incident, and even attempting to help him avoid arrest. One friend warned, "Gunner in the bushes stay low," to which the suspect replied "Thank you homie, good looking out."
Eventually, the SWAT team took the hotel by force, though they never fired a shot. They secured the hostage without injury while Valdez, in a last attempt to evade an arrest, shot himself in the chest with a pistol. He remains in critical condition. Police have yet to decide whether they will charge the suspect's social network contacts who were offering him aid during the standoff.