The District Attorney’s Office is investigating a low bail request after a suspect is arrested in a second SWAT standoff

CITY OF SALT LAKE (KUTV) — 2News Investigates investigated why 40-year-old Michael Joseph Dayley was allowed to allegedly violate a protective order against him more than once. Dayley, a convicted felon, was arrested Friday morning after a second standoff with the Salt Lake City Police SWAT team. Court records show that Dayley had been spiraling out of control for years, but he kept escaping from prison, which led to two run-ins with the SLCPD SWAT team in less than a month.

Court records and Utah Board of Pardons records show Dayley was convicted of discharging a gun from a car in 2009. A charge of violating a protective order was dismissed. He was sent to prison, from which he was granted parole in 2011. He was sent back to prison on a conviction for possessing a firearm and committing a crime. He was released on parole again in 2021. BOPP revoked his parole in 2022, and he was released later that year after his sentence expired.

Over the years, court records show numerous criminal cases involving domestic violence, assault, intoxication, disorderly conduct, domestic violence in the presence of children, drug use, drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm by a restricted person, violation of probation out of jail plea agreements, driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless driving, speeding over 100 miles per hour and criminal mischief. In many cases, charges were reduced and dismissed.

In 2016, he was accused of threatening the mother of his child with violence and telling her that he would kill her and himself. Knowing she had a gun in her bedroom, she jumped out of the window and called police, according to court documents.

On August 21, 2023, Dayley was granted a continuing order of protection regarding his current girlfriend. The protective order states that Dayley is prohibited from committing domestic violence against her.

On September 12, 2024, Salt Lake Police responded to a domestic violence incident. Dayley’s girlfriend told Officer Reid that he came to work with her; they argued and he grabbed her and headbutted her. He was charged with violating a continuing order of protection, a third-degree felony, and assault, a Class A misdemeanor. Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill and Assistant District Attorney Dixie Jackson filed a motion to set bail at $2,500 on the following grounds: “Defendant has a prior conviction for a crime of domestic violence involving the same victim.”

It further states that, based on his actions during his previous domestic violence conviction, the State believes that if he remains out of custody, she is likely to suffer continued domestic abuse at his hands. He was freed from prison. He then failed to appear, and Third District Court Judge Amber Mettler issued a warrant for his arrest. His bail was then set at $5,000 and he posted this.

Less than a month later, on October 6, charging documents say Dayley climbed the outdoor balcony to her apartment and gained entry. The protective order was still in effect. He accused her of cheating and took her cell phone. She tried to get her phone back, but he pushed her and started wrestling with her. The same documents show that she feared for her safety and went out to the balcony on the second floor of the apartment. But he locked the door, so she jumped off the balcony to escape. Salt Lake City police responded, but Dayley refused to comply with their commands and barricaded himself in the apartment, blocking the front door with the refrigerator. Eventually, the SWAT team surrounded the apartment. He eventually surrendered and his arrest was caught on camera by 2News. Dayley was charged with robbery, a second-degree felony, violation of a continuing order of protection, a third-degree felony, assault, also a third-degree felony, and obstructing police, a class B misdemeanor.

Salt Lake City Police Officer Connor Lucero, who arrested Dayley, was able to explain to Third District Court Judge Heather Brereton that Dayley would pose a “serious danger” to the victim if released on bail. Judge Brereton ordered Dayley remanded in custody without bail. However, when District Attorney Gill and Assistant District Attorney Rori Stokes filed formal charges, they made it clear that the victim could face more domestic violence from Dayley if she were to be released from jail, and only requested that bail be set at $5,000.

Dayley’s arrest warrant cited the following:

“The State seeks the following conditions: 1. Satisfaction of a $5,000 financial condition based on the following justification: The State believes that due to Defendant’s recent ongoing domestic violence case involving the same victim and his actions in this regard “In this case, it is likely that the victim will suffer further domestic violence from the defendant if released from custody.”

For Chris Bertram, a retired deputy chief of the United States Police Department and now a private investigator, consultant and college professor, this was surprising.

Bertram reviewed court records in the case before appearing on camera for 2News Investigates. He said, “Please understand that the case is going to the district attorney’s office, which has decided to ask for a $5,000 bond, and the judge has signed a $5,000 bond.”

Third Judicial District Court Judge William Kendall set bail at $5,000, as requested by the district attorney’s office, and Beehive Bail Bonds posted $5,000 bail for Dayley, after which he was released from jail.

PREVIOUS REPORTS ON MICHAEL DAYLEY:

Bertram went on to say, “I wouldn’t expect a $100,000 bond, but I would expect a higher bond to make sure this person showed up in court and followed public safety rules when they were out and about – that’s a little surprising.”

On October 31, Salt Lake City police were called to another domestic situation at the same apartment. Dayley was inside, keeping his ex-girlfriend who was under a protective order inside and not allowing her to leave. The probable cause affidavit says Dayley had a butcher knife in his hand and climbed down the ladder to the balcony again to escape.

A witness told police that Dayley was standing in front of the door with a “large” kitchen knife in his hand and a chair leaning against the door.

His ex-girlfriend told police he had been in the apartment since the previous night and wouldn’t let her leave. From the same statement, police confirmed he was holding a large butcher knife in his hand while using a police drone.

She also told police that Dayley tried to get people to come to the apartment to make her a victim of sex trafficking, and she saw him inject a syringe of methamphetamine into his mouth.

SWAT was called to the scene again, and Dayley barricaded the door to the apartment and repeatedly refused to obey police commands. When he surrendered, police say he came to the apartment to “get high.”

Bertram said: “You will shed light on this, you will most likely appear before the district attorney, before the judges who are hearing this now. The bar will be raised.”

We reached out to the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office for comment on why, given that he was charged with several felonies, but only asked for a $5,000 bond with no strings attached. Communications Manager Keith Chalmers said he was working on our request. We did not receive a response within the deadline and later received the following response:

“In domestic violence and sexual violence cases, judges often, out of an abundance of caution, will not grant the defendant bail to allow prosecutors enough time to review the case before releasing the defendant from prison. This is a 72-hour hold that applies after most arrests unless the court specifically allows it. Judges often have less information than the hearing prosecutor because the investigation does not end when a person is arrested. This defendant’s behavior has recently begun to escalate and our office has requested an increase in bail,” said Salt Lake County Prosecutor Sim Gill.

Also on Friday, in a belated court filing, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office charged Dayley with the following charges: domestic violence kidnapping, first-degree criminal mischief, violation of a continuing criminal protective order, third-degree criminal mischief, possession of a dangerous weapon by a subject restraints, a Class A misdemeanor, and obstructing a peace officer, a Class B misdemeanor. This time, they asked that Dayley be held without bail.

Documents from District Attorney Gill and Assistant District Attorney Dixie Jackson state that “The defendant’s actions in this case are disturbing. The accused kept the victim in the apartment for a long time, during which he did not allow her to leave and, if she tried, blocked the door. At some point during the incident, the defendant began to barricade the door, holding a large butcher knife in his hand. The State believes that due to defendant’s prior actions and actions in this case, if released from custody, he will pose a risk to the safety of the public.”

The records also show that his ex-girlfriend, the victim, underwent a lethality assessment and that she received a “high risk” result. He says he has access to weapons and can easily obtain them and that he “brutally” or “constantly” controls her daily activities and believes he will try to kill her.

The filing goes on to state: “The State believes that if the defendant is released from custody, the victim is likely to experience further domestic violence or death at the hands of the defendant. Accordingly, the State requests that the defendant be held without bail.”

Additionally, a motion was made to set aside the $5,000 Beehive Bail Bonds issued in favor of Dayley.

___