Utah man uses wrench in sock to ambush neighbor, say police

OGDEN (KSL.com) — An Ogden man was arrested Monday after police say he ambushed his neighbor and attacked him with a sock containing a crescent wrench.

Wyatt Austen Kinne, 30, was charged in 2nd District Court Tuesday with aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony; aggravated assault, a second-degree felony; and possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony.

Police say Kinne was waiting outside the victim’s house “in ambush” early Monday. When the victim opened the door of his house, he saw Kinne’s feet on the side of the door frame and tried to shut the door.

“Wyatt pushed the door open and shoved his way inside. As he did so, he swung a sock, which contained a heavy crescent wrench, which hit his victim on the top of the head. The victim immediately began to bleed profusely from a large laceration as the male continued to push his way into the house,” according to charging documents.

The two men grappled onto the floor, where Kinne put the man in a chokehold, the charges state. The man screamed for help while stabbing his keys into Kinne’s face to try and get away. A nearby neighbor ran outside and dragged Kinne off of the victim.

Police say they arrived to find Kinne “kneeling in the driveway with his hands on top of his head,” and he immediately requested a lawyer.

Kinne had asked the victim the day before if he was a sex offender, and he later told police “that he intended to hunt sex offenders,” according to a police booking affidavit.

Kinne was on federal probation at the time of his arrest, after pleading guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute in 2021 and serving prison time. He previously served two months in jail after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault on his roommate in 2018.