WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, May 19, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — Sparks flew and sirens wailed in West Valley City on Thursday night as suspected dopers and car thieves gave cops the slip for several hours in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse.
The hijinks began about 11:35 p.m. when a West Valley patrol officer noticed people inside a parked car after hours at Parkway Park near 3450 W. Parkway Boulevard.
The officer was approaching the vehicle to tell the group to move along when the car bolted from the parking lot.
West Valley police gave chase, but with speeds soon reaching 90 mph, supervisors made the decision to call the whole thing off.
The pursuit resumed a few minutes later, when the suspects’ vehicle roared past a Unified police cruiser, a rooster-tail of sparks shooting from a damaged rear wheel in a scene reminiscent of a Dukes of Hazzard outtake.
The chase then came to a sudden end as the suspects ditched the car near 8000 West and 2100 South and jack-rabbited into the darkness of a large open field where they managed to elude police.
Hours later police arrested two suspects. Henrique Valenzuela and Jose Evaristo Lugo-Fuentes were taken into custody Friday. Details of the arrests are forthcoming.
West Valley City Police Lt. Steve Burke told Gephardt Daily officers found meth inside the car, along with booze and a so-called “‘Scream’ mask” currently all the rage among thieves and stick-up men.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call West Valley PD.
