A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment charging Alex Doran Craig, 32, of Tooele County, Utah, with several violent crimes in connection to an alleged assault on two motorcyclists who crossed onto the Skull Valley Indian Reservation.
Court documents state that in April 2025, Craig and his codefendant Russell Allen, 50, also of Tooele County, allegedly confronted the victims for trespassing on Indian land. The indictment alleges the defendants ordered the victims to lie facedown on the ground, zip-tied them, kicked them, and threatened them with a knife. The pair is accused of taking the victims’ belongings—including their motorcycles—under the claim they were impounding property for trespassing.
According to authorities, Craig and Allen then transported the victims in a truck at high speed to a remote area in the desert. The victims were released without their property and had to walk more than ten miles over six or seven hours before reaching help at Dugway gate guards. Law enforcement later recovered both motorcycles from a maintenance shed on Skull Valley Indian Reservation Road. In June 2025, additional stolen items such as cell phones, wallets with identification cards, and a GoPro Max camera were recovered by law enforcement.
Investigators relied on video evidence, victim reports, witnesses and jail calls to identify both Craig and Allen as participants in these alleged crimes.
Craig and Allen face charges including kidnapping, assault, and theft while within Indian Country. Their initial appearance on the superseding indictment is set for July 31, 2025 at 1:30 p.m. before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in Salt Lake City.
“Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah made the announcement.”
The case is under investigation by the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force.
“Assistant United States Attorney Sam Pead of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.”
“This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).”
“This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.”
Authorities emphasize that an indictment is only an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
