SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 26, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A 24-year-old parole fugitive was taken into custody Thursday evening, but not until his vehicle’s wheels were spiked, he fled into the Jordan River in an attempt to escape, and K-9s were sent into the river to fetch him.
Sgt. Melody Cutler, Unified Police Department, told Gephardt Daily that UPD’s Metro Gang Unit had been searching for 24-year-old Tristan Harper, and spotted him at about 6:45 p.m. Thursday driving in the Glendale neighborhood of Salt Lake City.
Because officers knew Harper has a history of fleeing police, they cold-spiked his tires, a method of spiking that does not require high speeds. Once Harper’s vehicle was disabled on California Avenue, he climbed out of it and jumped into the Jordan River in an attempt to escape, Cutler told Gephardt Daily.
Police did not have to follow him in, Cutler said.
“He came out after the K-9s got there,” she said.
Harper was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. As of late Thursday night, his new charges had not been entered into the court database.
Harper was arrested in July 2020 on theft, vehicle burglary and a weapons charge.
