CEDAR CITY, Utah, April 24, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A Cedar City man is being held in the Iron County Jail after he allegedly led sheriff’s deputies on a low-speed chase to his home after an attempted traffic stop on Interstate 15.
Josh Brent Mackert, 34, is charged on suspicion of:
- Failure to respond at command of police, a third-degree felony
- Driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs, a class B misdemeanor
- Alcohol restricted driver, a class B misdemeanor
- Open container/drinking alcohol in a vehicle, a class B misdemeanor
- Operating a vehicle without insurance, a class B misdemeanor
The incident happened on Thursday.
“I attempted to stop a truck for speeding and failure to maintain its lane,” says a probable cause statement filed by an officer of the Iron County Sheriff’s Office.
“I activated my over head emergency lights and siren. The vehicle took exit 59 NB. The driver motioned to me that he knew I was behind him but he was going to keep going.”
The pickup truck, traveling at legal speeds, took several turns, ultimately traveling about 10 miles.
“I was behind the vehicle with my emergency lights and siren on,” the statement says. The driver took two more turns.
“At this time two marked units were behind it with are lights and sirens on. The vehicle traveled north on Bulldog Road and was turning onto 2400 North when officers spiked the front drivers side tire. The vehicle then continued east on 2400 North and then turned onto 400 West and started traveling south.
“The driver then pulled into a residence and stopped. At that point he was taken into custody. The driver had the strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath. He was transported to the jail and asked to perform field sobriety.”
Mackert failed the sobriety test.
“The subject did give a breath sample that showed he was 0.228 The driver has a alcohol restricted license. The vehicle had no insurance and the registration was revoked. The vehicle was searched and an open bottle of beer was found.”
In Utah, drivers are considered legally drunk at 0.05.
Mackert’s bail has not yet been set.
