BEAVER COUNTY, Utah, Dec. 29, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — A man stopped for following too close on Interstate 15 in Beaver County led officers on a 115 mph chase after a police dog signaled the car contained narcotics.
The incident started at about 11:45 p.m. Thursday near mile post 62. According to a statement from the Utah Highway Patrol, the officer pulled the northbound car over after observing it following another vehicle too closely and failing to use a turn signal.
“During the stop, he (the trooper) became suspicious of criminal activity and called for a canine to respond,” a UHP statement said. “A canine officer from Cedar PD responded. The driver was not very cooperative throughout the stop and remained in the vehicle while the dog did a sniff around the exterior of the vehicle. The dog gave a positive alert for narcotics.”
The Trooper told the driver and passenger to exit the vehicle, the statement said. The driver rolled up the window and fled north on I-15.
The trooper pursued the vehicle, and speeds reached about 115 mph, the statement says.
“A Beaver County Deputy successfully deployed spikes near mile 103, and one tire went flat,” the UHP statement says. “The pursuit continued north. A trooper successfully deployed spikes near mile 110 and two more tires went flat. The pursuit continued north. Near mile 118, the pursued vehicle slowed down to around 45 mph because of some semi trucks in front of it.”
The trooper did a PIT maneuver and the car was stopped. The male driver and a female passenger were taken into custody.
“There was a safe in the trunk of the vehicle,” the statement says. “Approximately 10 lbs. of methamphetamine was located in the safe.”
Taken into custody were driver Jose A. Chavez and female passenger Yessenia Mendoza, both 26.
So common that relatively minor traffic offenses will bring capture results.. great police work and smart dog! Meth in a safe in the car’s trunk..and the dog sniffed it out!! Our law enforcement people really need our support.. they are putting their lives at potential risk every minute on the job. I wonder where the criminals are from and where they were heading.
If they stopped every car that followed too closely, or failed to use turn signals (pretty much everyone including the cops making the stops) everybody would be stopped. Nobody would be able to go anywhere