TAYLORSVILLE, Utah, Nov. 24, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — A 32-year-old woman who allegedly rammed a police vehicle while trying to escape in a stolen pickup truck was arrested Thursday morning after a chase that ended when the truck was disabled by spike strips.
Victoria Diane Nunez was initially spotted by Taylorsville police while in the area of 1500 West and 5400 South, Taylorsville, Sgt. Jeff Smith, Taylorsville Police Department, told Gephardt Daily.
“Officers located a stolen vehicle and there was a female pumping gas into it,” Smith said. “They approached the vehicle, and the female pulled the fuel nozzle out, jumped in and rammed a police car to get away from the approaching police cars.”
A probable cause statement for Nunez said her decision to ram the police car was one “causing damage to the police vehicle and posing a significant risk of death or serious injury to the officer.”
Fortunately, the officer inside did not suffer serious injuries, Smith said.
Other officers began a pursuit, which went on to involve multiple agencies.
“It went for quite a while,” Smith said. “It went into West Jordan, and officers were keeping the safety of the public in mind. They discontinued the pursuit, but there were so many police in the area that they were able to keep eyes on the vehicle.”
The stolen white Chevrolet pickup eventually turned back toward Taylorsville, Smith said.
“One of our detectives deployed spikes and they spiked all the tires on the vehicle. And shortly after it stopped and the driver was arrested,” he said.
The suspect was stopped in the area of 2900 West and 7720 South, Smith said.
Nunez was searched, and officers found “on her person two shaved keys that are used to start vehicles,” her probable cause statement says. “Post Miranda A/P (accused person) admitted she received the vehicle from a friend and she knew it was stolen, and that is why she fled from officers. A/P also admitted she uses the two shaved keys to start vehicles.”
Nunez was charged on suspicion of:
- Receive or transfer stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony
- Assault on peace officer/military with use of dangerous weapon, a second-degree felony
- Fail to stop or respond at command of police, a third-degree felony
- Manufacture/possession burglary tools, a class B misdemeanor
