SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, April 20, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City Police officers arrested a man Wednesday morning after they say he was spotted in a suspicious vehicle, later determined to be stolen, and he tried to flee on foot.
Hung Ngoc Nguyen, 28, faces initial charges of:
- Receive or transfer of a stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony
- Transaction of dangerous weapon by a class l restricted person, a second-degree felony
- Failure to stop at the command of law enforcement, a class A misdemeanor
- Interference with an arresting officer, a class B misdemeanor
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
The investigation started at 8:05 a.m. when a patrol officer spotted the vehicle in a hotel parking lot near 1900 W. North Temple.
“As I approached the AP (arrested person) Hung Nguyen, who was sitting in a white truck with no license plate or temporary tag, I noticed that Hung was bent over to the right,” Nguyen’s probable cause statement says.
“I asked him to step out of the vehicle and sit on the curb. Hung’s hands were in his pockets, and I asked that he show me his hands. As Hung removed his hands from his pockets, he had a glass pipe with residue in his right hand.
“As I was attempting to ask Hung what he was doing in the parking lot slumped over in the truck, he started standing up. Assisting officer and I tried to place handcuffs on Hung, and he stood up and started running away.
“As we told Hung to stop, he continued to try to flee from officers.”
In the attempt to resist arrest, “Hung injured two officers,” the statement says.
Nguyen was identified by his photo in the state computer system, the statement says. The truck was also confirmed to be stolen.
“In performing a search on Hung, he had brass knuckles in his pocket of the jacket he was wearing when we initially approached him.”
Nguyen was Tased and taken into custody, and was not injured, the police statement says.
One officer suffered a minor injury and was treated and released from a local hospital, SLCPD later stated in a news release.
Nguyen was booked into jail. Online records show his bail was set at $250.
