Salt Lake City police nab violent ex-con in alleged RV kidnap

An ex-con with a history of domestic violence — including a 1996 incident where he shot and wounded his then-wife — has been arrested by Salt Lake City police for allegedly holding another woman against her will in his RV.

SLCPD Detective Veronica Montoya said William Steven Chaney, 53, was arrested Tuesday and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping; second-degree felony domestic violence/aggravated assault; and third-degree felony counts of possession of methamphetamine and mayhem.

Chaney, according to 3rd District Court records, pleaded guilty in 1996 to second-degree felony attempted murder for shooting his wife in the leg and then engaging in an armed standoff with police that ended with officers shooting him in the chest.

About 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Chaney's 36-year-old girlfriend called SLCPD from a Salt Lake City hospital to report she had been kidnapped and held for four days in the RV she shared with Chaney. When she tried to leave, he allegedly threatened and assaulted her, kicking her in the face and cutting one of her fingers.

The woman said Chaney also stole her cellphone to keep her from calling for help. On Tuesday, however, he dropped her off at a hospital to get stitches in her finger, and that is when police were called.

Police located Chaney at the RV, which was parked near 2000 South and 900 West. Officers allegedly recovered the methamphetamine from Chaney's pocket during his arrest.

In addition to the felony counts, Chaney also was under a federal hold order relating to alleged parole violation.

Chaney has been in and out of Utah State Prison over the past decade, according to Utah Department of Corrections spokewoman Brooke Adams.

He was paroled in 2004 after serving less than eight years on the attempted murder count, but was back behind bars for a parole violation in May 2006, being released once more seven months later. In November 2007, though, another parole violation put him back in prison.

He was again released in May 2008, only to return on a parole violation in September 2009. In January 2011, Chaney was turned over the U.S. Marshals and released on supervised probation in late July 2012 until late June of this year.

remims@sltrib.com

Twitter: @remims