TAYLORSVILLE, Utah, Jan. 20, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Unified Police officials rounded up several juvenile gang members Friday night, after they were spotted driving a stolen truck shortly after 11 p.m.
UPD Sgt. Luis Lovato said a patrol officer saw the vehicle driving without lights and started following it.
As soon as the driver noticed the officer, Lovato said, “the driver took evasive maneuvers into a neighborhood.”
It turned out the truck had been stolen out of West Valley City.
“(The police) were able to follow at quite a distance with unmarked cars, covertly,” Lovato said.
Because of the slick roads, a pursuit was out of the question, but the snow ended up working in the officers’ favor.
“Speeds were slow, and once the driver got into the neighborhood, with the wet road conditions, it appears he wasn’t able to put it into four-wheel drive,” Lovato said. “So he wasn’t able to travel very fast at all — speeds at about 20 miles an hour.”
Police were able to set up spike strips, and all four of the truck’s tires were spiked.
When the truck finally came a stop, near 4490 S. Kathy Ave. (3600 West), seven juveniles fled the scene.
K-9s were deployed, and the dogs found the youths where they were hiding throughout the neighborhood.
Lovato said all seven are either gang members or associates of gang members and were being taken by police to a juvenile detention facility.
The investigation is ongoing.
Gephardt Daily will update this story as more information becomes available.
