DAVIS COUNTY, Utah, Oct. 3, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — Court documents have revealed the identity of a man arrested after police say he led them on a multi-hour chase through a half dozen jurisdictions while recklessly driving an SUV stolen from a Layton dealership Saturday morning.
The suspect is 34-year-old Christopher Wayne Robertson, who now faces charges of:
- Assault against a peace officer with weapon or force, a second-degree felony
- Theft of an operable vehicle or firearm, a second-degree felony
- Failure to stop or respond at the command of police, a third-degree felony
- Purchase, transfer, possession or use of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony
- Burglary, a third-degree felony
- Failure to stop at the command of law enforcement, a class A misdemeanor
- Reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor
- Driving on a suspended or revoked license, a class C misdemeanor
Robertson is being held without bail in the Davis County jail.
A probable cause statement filed by an officer of the Layton City Police Department says Robertson was observed on video surveillance unlawfully entering Young Chevrolet at approximately 2:30 a.m., “and a Chevrolet Tahoe was driven off the parking lot at approximately 0530 hours.”
That is earlier than the time stated in a Saturday interview with an officer of the LCPD.
“The vehicle was tracked using GPS and located at approximately 1145 hours,” the statement continues. “As officers approached the vehicle, it was driven away. Christopher matched the description of the driver.
“Other agencies engaged in a pursuit with Christopher and during that time he was reportedly driving reckless and with a wanton disregard to the publics safety. At one point, Christopher drove his vehicle head on into a Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) vehicle. The UHP vehicle had its lights activated and Christopher reportedly didn’t swerve or brake to avoid the collision. It was reported he appeared to be accelerating.”
The suspect tore through neighborhoods and yards in Layton, Kaysville, Farmington, Clearfield and Syracuse, Layton Police Sgt. Eric Smith told Gephardt Daily.
Smith said law enforcement agencies in other cities were able to locate the vehicle, with help from above by a Department of Public Safety helicopter. But early on, no agencies were able to stop the driver.
“The suspect escalated the situation pretty significantly when he rammed a UHP trooper. Thankfully, the trooper was not seriously injured from what I understand.”
Smith said the suspect continued to escalate the situation with more erratic driving on and off road, “even through residential yards. Our primary concern was not only for the safety of the officers but for the safety of the public as well.”
The chase finally wrapped up in a marshy and rural area of Syracuse.
“Officers were able to utilize their patrol cars to disable the suspect car,” Smith said. “The suspect continued to be non compliant with officers commands, and would not exit vehicle, less lethal munitions were utilized to encourage the suspect to comply. And he got out of the vehicle and ran into a marshy area.”
It’s hard to run fast on marshy ground, Smith said, and the suspect, later identified as Robertson, was quickly taken into custody.
The probable cause statement details what happened next.
“Christopher reported to officers that he was high on methamphetamine at the time and several empty needles were located in the vehicle. Also located in the vehicle was a firearm, credit cards, ID cards, and various other property suspected of being stolen. Further follow up will be conducted to identify further victims.”
In all, seven or eight law enforcement vehicles were damaged in the chase and the stopping of the Tahoe, Smith told Gephardt Daily on Saturday.
“It’s been quite a day.”
A records check shows that in a 2018 case resolved on March 10 of this year, Robertson pleaded guilty to assault against a police officer, failure to stop at the command of a law enforcement, disarming a police officer, and possession or use of a controlled substance.
Two other charges in that case were dismissed with prejudice. They were use or possession or drug, paraphernalia and manufacture/possession of burglary tools.
Robertson was sentenced to two terms of 364 days and one of 180 days. Credit was granted for time served.
