Utah man charged with stalking, threatening his Mormon bishop, poisoning his lawn

A Murray man was charged Monday with stalking, threatening his LDS bishop and the bishop's family, and killing the bishop's lawn after a dispute during an admission interview for BYU-Idaho.

The 30-year-old man faces charges in 3rd District Court of criminal mischief, a second-degree felony; stalking, a class A misdemeanor; and threat of violence, a class B misdemeanor.

The bishop for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told police that during a meeting regarding the man's application to attend Brigham Young University-Idaho, the man "became very angry, violent and a minor physical altercation occurred between" the two, according to charges.

Between December 2015 and December 2016, the man made several threats of violence to the bishop through text messages and Facebook posts, charges state. The threats also alluded to violence toward the bishop's wife and daughter, charges said, causing the wife to "fear for her safety" and for the safety of her family members.

The man told the bishop via text message that he had been instructed by police not to contact the bishop, charges state.

In August, the bishop filed a report with Murray police, stating that is an unknown chemical sprayed on his lawn had killed it, according to charges. A surveillance video showed a suspect who matched the man's description spraying something on the lawn, causing $6,744 in damage.

The man told a friend that he had gone to the bishop's house and sprayed pesticide on his lawn, charges said.

The man also allegedly wrote a post on Facebook that he wanted to burn the bishop and the bishop's daughter alive, charges state.

A $25,000 warrant for the man's arrest was issued Monday.

mnoble@sltrib.com

Twitter: @mnoblenews