For an updated story, click here.
UTAH COUNTY, Utah, Dec. 19, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — What began as an armed home-invasion robbery Friday night in Orem turned into a high-speed chase involving officers in American Fork and Lehi.
According to police radio transmissions, people at a residence near 1200 West and 600 South in Orem reported armed suspects had kicked in their door and robbed them before leaving.
“It looks like there was an apartment, and two men came in wearing masks, looking for a person in particular, and that person was not there,” Orem Police Lt. Nick Thomas told Gephardt Daily. “There were possibly two others in the car.
The two who came in “had guns and knives, and they stole some items, a game system and the phones of the five people there at the time,” Thomas said. “Nobody got hurt.”
Officials put out an attempt-to-locate on the car, which was spotted first by officers of the American Fork Police Department. The AFPD posted on social media Saturday morning:
“Many of our citizens have asked about the vehicle pursuit that went through our city last night so we wanted to let everyone know what it was about,” the statement says. “Orem Police Department took a report of an aggravated home-invasion robbery where several suspects forced their way into a home and robbed the occupants at gunpoint.
“The suspect vehicle was located near our border and a pursuit began. The pursuit continued through American Fork as well as some other surrounding cities. Officers from several agencies did everything they could to stop the vehicle including spiking the tires. The suspect was eventually arrested after he crashed.”
That happened in Lehi, Sgt. Kirkham, Lehi Police Department, confirmed to Gephardt Daily.
After the ATL was issued, “we located a vehicle that matched and attempted to make a traffic stop, but the vehicle fled. That resulted in a pursuit, which ended in a crash.”
A police car was hit and sustained minor or moderate damage, Kirkham said. The officer was not injured. The suspect was taken into custody.
“We determined the vehicle stolen, and he was intoxicated,” Kirkham said.
“It sounded like a pretty wild night. It was getting to the point where officers needed to get him stopped, based on his willful disregard for the safety of others. He was running into officers, and it was a pretty lengthy pursuit. He needed to be stopped.”
The name of the man in custody has not yet been released. Orem Lt. Thomas said the investigation is ongoing.
“It’s an open investigation,” he said. “We will be be looking for the other people involved.”
