SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 8, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Police say a woman who stopped to check a tire problem fought off and escaped an alleged carjacker who climbed into the driver’s seat and attempted to leave with her 7-year-old daughter inside.
Zachery Cover, of Salt Lake City, was indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday in an alleged Aug. 30 morning carjacking near 1000 West and 200 North.
Police say Cover attempted to steal the woman’s black BMW about 9 a.m. while she was stopped due to a tire problem, according to court documents.
The woman had left the car running and the driver’s door open while she checked the tire pressure, court documents say.
That’s when police say Cover got into the car and shut the door. The woman reached through the open driver’s door window and pleaded with Cover not to leave with her daughter, who was in the back seat, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah.
“Cover told the victim to take her daughter and get out,” a news release from the attorney’s office says.
The woman was able to pull Cover from the vehicle, “and a physical altercation ensued,” the release says.
“The victim was struck several times by Cover. At one point, Cover displayed a firearm and pointed it at the victim and her child.”
The woman then fought off the man a second time, knocking the gun away, escaping in her car and calling 911.
A responding Salt Lake City police officer took Carver into custody and recovered a facsimile .22-caliber Walther-style BB gun, court documents say.
Cover made his initial appearance on the carjacking indictment Thursday at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse. A two-day trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 13.
