WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, March 18, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — Three men, including a wanted fugitive, are in custody after leading police on a high-speed chase through the streets of Salt Lake County early Saturday morning — a chase that lasted more than a half-hour and involved cops from West Valley, West Jordan, Cottonwood Heights, Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Unified Police and the Utah Highway Patrol.
The mad dash across the county began around 3:30 a.m. when West Valley police officers say they spotted three men in the act of stealing a car outside a motel near 3300 South.
As the men drove off, police tried to pull them over and suddenly the chase was on.
The suspects bolted, speeding through West Valley City and Taylorsville before jumping onto the Interstate 215 belt route. Along the way, they allegedly threw several items from the car, including a clip loaded with .22-caliber bullets.
After reaching the east side of the I-215 belt route, the suspects turned onto Foothill Drive before winding through a series of neighborhoods, including Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Cottonwood Heights and Murray.
The suspects ended up on I-215 westbound, where their Ford Focus came to a stop after its tires were spiked by a waiting UHP trooper near 1200 West. Arresting officers pulled the three suspects from the car and only then realized the back window of the vehicle had been shot out sometime during the chase.
West Valley City Police Lt. Steve Burke said investigators believe the suspects either opened fire at a pursuing police vehicle or at one of the officers who was attempting to set up tire spikes.
All three suspects were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.
They’re expected to be arraigned Monday morning on a variety of felony charges.
