SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah, Jan. 17, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A DUI driver has been arrested after a pursuit in Salt Lake County in the early hours of Sunday.
A probable cause statement from the 3rd District Court of Salt Lake County said Jeffery Alan Wiley, 50, is facing charges of:
- Receive or transfer a stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony
- Failure to stop or respond at command of police, a third-degree felony
- DUI with two or more prior convictions within 10 years, a third-degree felony
- Possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony
- Refusal of chemical test, a class B misdemeanor
- Reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor
- Criminal trespass, a class B misdemeanor
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
- Disorderly conduct after request to stop, a class C misdemeanor
- Failure to obey traffic control devices, an infraction
- Drive on wrong side of roadway, an infraction
The arresting officer wrote in the statement he attempted to stop a reckless driver in the area of 11400 South Interstate 15 northbound.
“Dispatch advised me the witness saw the RV hit the barrier and keep going,” the statement said. “I attempted to stop the RV but it evaded me and fled and continued driving, I did not pursue it due to the construction zone and terminated at 9000 South I-15 northbound.”
The traffic operations center located the RV a few minuets later still northbound on I-15 5300 South. The arresting officer was able to catch up to the RV a few minutes later.
“Once I located the RV, I followed it without lights or sirens in the city until Star 9, our helicopter, followed the RV,” the statement said. “Dispatch confirmed that the RV was stolen out of California. The RV was driving very dangerously and very recklessly. The RV was running red lights and at some points driving on the wrong side of the roadway.”
The RV was spiked multiple times and eventually stopped in the area of 975 E. Belmont Ave. in Salt Lake City where the male driver and only occupant bailed on foot and ran up an alley to a shed.
The suspect was located trespassing in the shed and was arrested, the statement said. Multiple officers saw the man in the driver seat and could positively identify that the man was the driver.
“I searched the RV and located an alcoholic beverage and a glass pipe that contained a white crystallized-like substance inside along with residue,” the statement said. “Inside the RV was also a firearm.”
Wiley’s criminal history includes “multiple convictions of DUI’s and drugs and stolen cars/property.”
The suspect refused when the officer requested the blood test and a warrant was served.
Wiley was transported to Salt Lake County Jail, where he is being held without bail.
