SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 19, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A police chase that started as part of a stolen vehicle investigation has led to federal drug and weapon charges against a Utah man.
Willie Dean Tuamoheloa was arrested Oct. 17, 2020, after allegedly leading police on a slow-speed chase, which started in Taylorsville and ended in Salt Lake City.
According to a probable cause statement filed in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, Unified Police detectives located a black BMW X3, which had been reported stolen, parked on a street in Taylorsville.
While officers were staking out the vehicle, they say they saw a man, later identified as Tuamoheloa, along with a woman, walking toward the parked BMW.
The probable cause statement claims once the couple drove off, with Tuamoheloa behind the wheel, “law enforcement utilized spikes to decelerate the vehicle.”
An officer who was following the BMW claims he “observed a backpack being thrown from the front window while the vehicle continued driving,” the statement said.
“The officer suspected a firearm was inside of the backpack because of the manner in which it hit the ground, creating a spark when contacting the pavement.”
The vehicle continued to travel around 15 to 20 mph and pulled into a neighborhood in Salt Lake City, where police say Tuamoheloa abandoned the vehicle with three flat tires near 950 S. 1500 West.
Investigators told Gephardt Daily that Tuamoheloa ran from the BMW and was ultimately found by a police K9, hiding in a shed in a nearby backyard.
Officers say a search of the backpack, which had been tossed from the vehicle during the chase, turned up a 9mm Glock 26 handgun, a PMag magazine, and 37.6 grams of methamphetamine.
Tuamoheloa was charged with ‘possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute’ and being a person ‘restricted of a firearm and ammunition.’
Gephardt Daily will update this story as more information becomes available.
