PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT

August 29, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact Information: PolicePRUnit@slcgov.com

Media Request Form: https://police.slc.gov/mediarequest/

SLCPD HRC Squad Seizes Drugs, Arrests 53-Year-Old Man

SALT LAKE CITY — Officers assigned to the Salt Lake City Police Department’s Gail Miller Homeless Resource Center squad safely arrested a 53-year-old man accused of selling illegal drugs in the resource center’s parking lot.

This investigation started around 9:40 p.m. on Thursday, August 24, 2023, when an officer noticed a car illegally parked near the Gail Miller Resource Center, located at 242 West Paramount Avenue.

Officers spoke with the driver, identified as Grant McDonald, and learned he did not have a valid driver license.

During the investigation, officers recovered heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and an open container of alcohol.

The marijuana weighed nearly 700 grams, or 1.5 pounds.

Officers took McDonald to the Salt Lake County Metro Jail and booked him on two felony counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, two misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance, one misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana, one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia, one misdemeanor count of open container of alcohol, and a traffic infraction.

Charges are only allegations, and every arrested person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Salt Lake City Police Department is not the custodian of record for jail booking photos. Utah Code 17-22-30 mostly prohibits the release of jail booking photos. Generally, a jail booking photo can only be released by the custodian of record after a conviction or when law enforcement determines the person is a fugitive or an imminent threat to a person or public safety. In Salt Lake City, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office is the custodian of record for jail booking photos.

A photo of the evidence recovered is being released. Media may use this photo with credit to the Salt Lake City Police Department.

The Salt Lake City Police Department’s Homeless Resource Center squads (HRC) are designated to improve the safety and overall well-being of both the homeless population and the surrounding community at and around the Gail Miller Resource Center and the Geraldine E. King Women’s Resource Center.

Each homeless resource center has a squad of one SLCPD sergeant and five SLCPD officers assigned. These officers take calls for service around the resource centers to augment patrol officers, serve as conduits to essential services such as healthcare, mental health services, and substance abuse treatment, and to help foster positive relationships between law enforcement and the homeless community.

1 – A photo of a bag of marijuana and drug paraphernalia (SLCPD photo | August 20, 2023).

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