SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 18, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A Salt Lake City man has been arrested on aggravated kidnapping and assault charges after police say he fled an attempted police stop, pausing to flip off an officer, then dragged his female passenger — who was attempting to leave the vehicle — along the roadway rather than stop.
Keith Davontya Williams, 39, has been booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on charges of:
- Aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony
- Aggravated assault, a first-degree felony
- Failure to respond to an officer’s sign to stop, a third-degree felony
- Possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
A probable cause statement indicates that on Wednesday, a Salt Lake City police detective activated his siren and emergency lights in an attempt to stop driver Williams, who was in the area of 1930 S. 200 East, traveling 10 miles above the speed limit.
Detective L. LeGore says in the statement that Williams turned a corner and did not stop, then made a sudden U-turn, flipping off LeGore as he sped past.
The statement says that William’s female passenger, Penelope Johnson, opened her door and attempted to exit the vehicle, but Williams pulled her back in and continued to flee. The woman then jumped from Williams’ vehicle, but her arm was caught in the seatbelt, the statement says.
“The defendant still refused to stop, and was dragging Ms. Johnson on the roadway,” the statement says. “Ms. Johnson eventually fell from the vehicle and the defendant continued to flee.”
The detective terminated the pursuit “because the defendant was traveling at a high rate of speed, he failed to obey traffic control devices, and he was driving into oncoming traffic,” the statement says.
Johnson was transported to a hospital for treatment of injuries received.
When interviewed, Johnson told police that she knows Williams as “Boss.” She asked Williams to let her out of the vehicle, and he responded that she would have to jump. When she first attempted to, he pulled her back in, she said.
When she tried again, she became entangled with the seatbelt.
“Ms. Johnson states she remembers being dragged, but cannot remember much after she fell onto the roadway.”
Williams was located the next day, and a search of his vehicle turned up a drug pipe, baggies and a scale. After being read his Miranda Rights, Williams said he fled “because he felt like he did nothing wrong,” the statement said.
