Provo police ask for help finding kidnapping suspects and jewelry ... - Daily Herald
The Provo Police Department is asking the public for help in locating three men suspected of involvement in two separate criminal cases.
The first case involves an assault and kidnapping, and was reported to police Saturday by employees and tenants at the Super 8 Motel in Provo, said Detective Nick Dupaix with the Provo Police Department.
The employees and tenants witnessed two men chasing another man in the parking lot, Dupaix said. The two men were said to have left the scene in a blue van, possibly a Chrysler or Dodge.
Police later identified and contacted the reported kidnapping victim, who identified Joseph Tukuafu and William Pauni as his kidnappers.
The two men were known to the victim, Dupaix said, and he had met them at the FrontRunner train station for work. The victim told police he was hit over the head, and when he woke up, he was in a Super 8 motel room.
Dupaix said the man told police Tukuafu and Pauni tried drugging him, and he decided to force his way out of the room. When police found him, he had minor injuries.
Dupaix said police have checked all known addresses for Tukuafu and Pauni and have been unable to locate them.
"We are reaching out to the public to help us locate them," Dupaix said.
Anyone with information on this case can call Provo Police Department's Dispatch at (801) 852-6215 and ask for Detective Patterson.
Police are also asking for help in a separate case that happened earlier in the month.
A man, described as 5 foot 8 inches tall and white, walked into The Jeweler's Bench located on University Avenue. The man pretended to be a lawyer from Colorado, but the store's employees noticed he was getting nervous as they showed him pieces of jewelry, Dupaix said.
The man then grabbed seven items of jewelry and ran from the store. The total value of what he took is valued at about $10,000.
Police currently have no leads, Dupaix said. That man had long sleeves, a baseball cap with a Fox logo, tinted glasses and a well-kept beard.
Anyone with information on the jewelry theft can call Provo Dispatch at (801) 852-6215 and ask for Detective Chambers.
