A Third District judge dismissed all eight charges against a 53-year-old Draper man accused of stabbing, sexually assaulting and setting a stranger on fire in October 2024, ordering his release after he had spent more than a year and a half in jail awaiting trial. Robert Reins was freed in early September after prosecutors themselves asked that the case be thrown out, citing problems with the evidence against him.
Judge Richard Daynes granted the dismissal after Deputy Salt Lake County Attorney Chad Carter argued in a motion, filed at the end of August, that the case should be dropped due to evidentiary concerns and lack of a reasonable likelihood of success at trial, according to KSL. Reins's own attorneys agreed to the dismissal, which the outlet reports was without prejudice — meaning prosecutors could refile charges if more evidence surfaces.
A Brutal Attack Near a TRAX Station
The case traces back to about midnight on Oct. 1, 2024, when a man was walking from the Kimball's Lane TRAX station in Draper down 700 East toward his overnight job at a fast-food restaurant on 12300 South. Near that intersection, the outlet's report states, the victim said something in Spanish before a stranger asked him to repeat it — and the encounter turned violent from there.
According to the account, the stranger put the victim in a chokehold, sliced his side with a knife, ripped off his clothes and sexually assaulted him. The victim told investigators he was knocked unconscious and later woke up to, in his words from the booking affidavit, “the pain of burning,” realizing he had been set on fire. He was later treated at a hospital for significant injuries from the attack.
How Police Zeroed In On Reins
The victim gave police a description of his attacker and provided a sketch with distinctive characteristics, the same report notes. Draper police later determined that Reins strongly resembled that sketch after officers encountered him acting erratically a block from where the attack happened. A separate, earlier KSL report on the arrest described the encounter as occurring outside a 7-Eleven, where officers found a man bearing a strong resemblance to the sketch and threatening violence.
Investigators also collected a cigarette Reins had been smoking along with his water bottle to test for DNA against evidence from the crime scene, the station reported at the time of his arrest. The victim was later shown a photo lineup and picked out Reins, saying he was 90% sure Reins was the person who attacked him.
Months-Long Gap Before Felony Charges
Reins was not formally charged until Jan. 16, 2025 — months after the assault. On that date, Third District Judge James Gardner signed an order finding probable cause for his arrest without a warrant and ordering him held without bail, per the same KSL account.
The charges ultimately filed against Reins were extensive: aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated robbery, all first-degree felonies; forcible sexual abuse, aggravated assault causing serious injury and aggravated assault leading to loss of consciousness, all second-degree felonies; and two additional counts of aggravated assault as third-degree felonies. In total, the case against him included eight charges before it was dismissed.
What Comes Next
Because the dismissal was without prejudice, Utah's rules of criminal procedure allow prosecutors to refile charges in district court if they later develop stronger evidence, according to the Utah Courts rules governing such cases. For now, Reins is free after spending roughly 18 months in jail while the case against him worked through the courts.
