CEDAR CITY, Utah, Oct. 17, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — The man who led police on a two-county chase Monday afternoon has been identified as a 53-year-old homeless man in a vehicle stolen out of California, according to court documents.
Deputies from the Washington and Iron county sheriff’s offices as well as Utah Highway Patrol troopers were involved in the chase of the black BMW. When spike strips finally ended it, the driver refused to exit the vehicle, leading to a SWAT standoff and closure of Interstate 15 for an hour or more, police said at the time.
“Numerous verbal and PA (public address loudspeaker) commands were given to the driver to exit the vehicle and comply,” according to charging documents for Avetik Ayo Gyandzhyan. After the suspect ignored all commands tear gas was “deployed into the vehicle to gain compliance from the driver.
“The driver failed to comply and Iron County SWAT conducted a forced vehicle extraction on the driver, and he was taken into custody after a brief struggle inside of the vehicle. The driver identified himself at the Cedar City Hospital as Avetik Gyandzhyan.”
After medical clearance, he was booked into the Iron County Jail on suspicion of charges of second-degree felony vehicle theft, third-degree felony evading and class B misdemeanor resisting arrest.
