WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, April 18, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Police have a man in custody, suspected of shooting at a West Valley City Police officer who was conducting an unrelated vehicle inspection Saturday afternoon.
Arrested was 29-year-old John Samora, WVCPD tweeted late Saturday night.
Samora is being returned to prison on a parole fugitive warrant, police said. He was taken into custody during a traffic stop Saturday evening.
“Charges of attempted homicide on a police officer, related to shots fired at our officer earlier, will be screened against Samora,” WVCPD said.
WVCPD Lt. Justin Wyckoff told Gephardt Daily the officer escaped injury during the shooting attempt, which happened about 4:30 p.m. near 2200 South and 4000 West, as the officer was doing a VIN inspection on a vehicle.
The suspect had no relation to the vehicle inspection, and his motive for shooting at the officer was not known, Wyckoff said.
Later Saturday night, WVCPD tweeted that a red crossover SUV had stopped on 4000 West and fired four rounds at the officer. The suspect fled, and officers pursued him into Salt Lake City and South Salt Lake before the pursuit was terminated.
The suspect vehicle was found abandoned in South Salt Lake, Wyckoff told Gephardt Daily. Officers established a containment perimeter in the area where the vehicle was found and brought in K-9s to assist in the search, but the suspect wasn’t located.
Just before 7 p.m., West Valley City officers conducted a felony stop on a vehicle near 3800 West and 4700 South in relation to the earlier incident, and the vehicle’s occupants were being questioned.
A short while later, WVCPD tweeted that the suspect, Samora, was in custody.
I’m glad they caught the dirt bag that shot at that police officer in West Valley City.