DAVIS COUNTY, Utah, Dec. 3, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — A man arrested Wednesday in a stolen vehicle after an Interstate 15 shootout in Layton has been booked into the Davis County jail after a hospital stay to be treated for a bullet wound.
Michael John Buttel, 28, was arrested on suspicion of:
- Three counts of assault on a peace officer with a dangerous weapon, a second-degree felony
- Receive or transfer of stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony
- Criminal mischief, damages greater than $5,000, a second-degree felony
- Six counts of felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony
- Possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony
- Failure to stop at the command of an officer, a third-degree felony
- Six counts of discharge of a firearm from a vehicle at a highway sign, a class B misdemeanor
- No valid license, never obtained license, an infraction
- Failure to obey traffic control devices, an infraction
On Wednesday, Layton City Police were called at 6:22 a.m. about a suspicious vehicle parked in a driveway on a dead-end road.
“An officer responded and located the vehicle parked partially in the roadway and partially in the driveway,” Buttel’s probable cause statement says.
“The officer walked up to the passenger window to check on the driver and saw the driver, later identified Micheal Buttel, was asleep in the driver seat. The officer saw a gun in [Buttel’s] pocket and requested additional units before trying to make contact with [him]. There was nobody else reported to be in the vehicle. It was decided a high risk stop would be conducted to ensure officer and suspect safety.”
Officers “positioned their vehicles to try and lock [Buttel’s] vehicle from being able to flee,” the statement says. Police then activated their emergency lights and “called out to [Buttel] from behind the cover of their vehicles. Officers identified themselves as police [and] told [him] to step out of the vehicle.”
The vehicle backed up into another yard, struck a mailbox, and struck two Layton City Police vehicles before making it to the roadway, the probable cause statement says. It made a U-turn and drove south on 350 West, then turned onto 1350 North, then north onto Hill Field Road.
An unmarked police vehicle then followed Buttel, and marked Layton City Police vehicles fell back.
Officers spiked Buttel’s tires as he drove west on state Route 193, but he continued and turned south on I-15.
A Layton City Police sergeant announced over police radio at 7:04 a.m. that officers were traveling about 55 mph, “shots had been fired at them, and they were attempting to conduct a PIT maneuver,” the statement says.
“It was reported the first PIT maneuver was unsuccessful and they continued driving South on I-15.”
Buttel’s vehicle crashed about 7:06 a.m., and officers were conducting a high-risk stop, according to the statement.
“It was reported [Buttel] was complying with officer commands and reported he was hurt.”
Buttel was treated for a bullet wound to the shoulder at Ogden Regional Hospital, the statement says.
He was booked into jail the next day.
Buttel, who had existing warrants, told police he had stolen the vehicle from Centerville, and the gun he used also was stolen, the statement says.
While searching the vehicle, officers found several financial transaction cards and a Utah driver’s license that didn’t belong to Buttel. They also located a backpack reported stolen from another vehicle in West Valley City, the probable cause statement says.
The case is being investigated as an officer-involved critical incident.
