WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, Oct. 7, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Three people were detained Sunday night after a brief police pursuit, and one of them has been arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle.
Lt. Shane Matheson, West Valley City Police Department, said an officer located the vehicle, which had been stolen out of Murray, at about 1:20 a.m. Before a traffic stop could be made, the vehicle sped away, and police initiated a pursuit.
An assisting officer deployed spikes, which flattened one of the car’s tires, but it only slowed the vehicle down, Matheson said. The driver continued to flee through Westlake Business Park.
“They went through an industrial area, near 2700 South and SR-201, west of Redwood Road,” Matheson told Gephardt Daily. “It was actually good, because there was no traffic at the time, and the flat tire slowed him down.”
Matheson said the driver then went east into a neighborhood, stopped the vehicle, and surrendered to the pursuing officers.
Alex Rasmussen, 23, of Magna, was taken into custody and will be charged with possession of a stolen vehicle. Matheson said there also may be a charge of driving under the influence.
The two passengers in the car, a man and a woman, were released at the scene.
“No one was injured, and there was no property damage, except for the flat tire,” Matheson said. “It was a textbook case. They all should go so smoothly.”
