WOODS CROSS, Utah, Feb. 7, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Two men are in custody charged with attempted murder and multiple other felonies in connection with an incident that started with an officer-involved shooting in Woods Cross and ended in a crash in West Valley City.
According to probable cause statements filed in 2nd District Court in Farmington, the suspects, Julian Nordahl, 26, and Tucker Riggs, 28, were approached by a patrol officer while sitting in a suspicious vehicle outside Manheim Auto Auction at 1650 W. 500 South about 4 a.m. Sunday.
During the interaction, the officer suddenly felt “that his life was in imminent danger and fired shots at the vehicle before it fled from Officers,” the statement said.
The suspects then drove west on 500 South, turning onto Legacy Parkway and jumping on Interstate 215 West, where the chase reached speeds of more than 90 mph.
The probable cause statement said as the pickup began to pull onto the 700 North on-ramp the driver slammed on the brakes, causing a police car to hit the suspects’ vehicle. The officer was uninjured and continued the pursuit.
After winding through North Salt Lake, Salt Lake City and West Valley City, the 30-minute chase came to an end when the pickup drove down an alleyway and smashed into a chain link fence near a cul-de-sac at El Cabrio Drive, 3405 East.
“As I pulled my firearm the two individuals immediately put their hands out the window of the vehicle,” the arresting officer wrote.
Nordahl and Riggs were taken into custody without incident and booked into the Davis County Jail.
Woods Cross Police Chief Chad Soffe told Gephardt Daily a loaded firearm was found inside the pickup. The truck was determined to be a stolen vehicle out of Salt Lake City, Soffe said.
Soffe said police from Woods Cross, North Bountiful and West Valley City took part in the chase and subsequent arrest.
The officer-involved shooting remains under investigation.
Gephardt Daily will update the story as more information becomes available.
