SANDY, Utah, Dec. 9, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A Utah Highway Patrol trooper responding to multiple reports of a man walking on Interstate 15 near 9000 South ended up taking a suspect into custody on multiple charges including being a fugitive from justice.
Police say Blake Larsen Edmunds, 23, had just found a ride with a “good Samaritan” when the trooper pulled up.
“Multiple callers described the individual as wearing a black hoodie wearing a backpack,” says Edmunds’ probable cause statement. “At 16:39 another caller advised that this individual had now ran across the lanes of I-15. The weather/road conditions were very hazardous thus increasing the risk of the individual being struck or causing a serious crash.
“Around 16:47 hours as I was southbound approaching 10000 South I observed the suspect on the left shoulder.”
The suspect later identified as Edmunds got into a sedan that had stopped.
“I stepped out with the vehicle and approached the window and informed the suspect to step out of the vehicle,” the trooper’s statement says. “The person in the driver seat informed me he was just stepping out with the suspect to provide help.”
The backpack
Edmunds got out of the vehicle, but left behind the black backpack.
“The driver informed me that the suspect came into his vehicle with it. However, the suspect didn’t want to claim it,” the trooper’s statement says.
“Once the was out of the good Samaritans vehicle, I placed him inside my vehicle’s cage portion. I attempted to get his name and date of birth and it took the suspect a strange amount of thought to provide one. Eventually the suspect told me his name was “Angel Edmonds DOB 02/12/1999.”
The trooper noted Edmunds bloodshot eyes and slowed responses as possible signs of drug use.
“When I conducted a records check of the information provided, it was revealed the name he provided was a previous alias he has used. The alias Angel Edmonds was on an active warrant for a Blake Larsen Edmunds 02/12/1998. I asked the suspect again what his real information was and he confirmed he was actually Blake.”
The trooper wrote that he took Edmunds to a safer location to conduct tests to identify signs of drug use, which the officer found. Edmunds was placed under arrest at 5:13 p.m. Thursday.
At that point, the contents of his backpack were examined. The trooper found plastic bags with white crystals inside, and a tube with a leafy substance, with tested positive for meth and marijuana.
The National Crime Information Center hit turned out to be for an extraditable warrant out of Wendover for attempted possession of a stolen motor vehicle, the officer’s statement says.
Charges
Edmunds now faces charges of:
- Fugitive from justice, warrant for arrest, a third-degree felony
- Possession of a controlled substances schedule l/ll/analog, a class A misdemeanor
- Reckless endangerment, a class A misdemeanor
- Possession of a controlled substance, marijuana/spice, a class B misdemeanor
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
- Giving false personal identity to peace officer, a class C misdemeanor
- Intoxication, a class C misdemeanor
- Pedestrian walking on or along a no-access freeway, an infraction
Edmunds was booked into the Salt Lake County jail, where he is being held without bail.
