WEST VALLEY CITY, Nov. 9, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — West Valley City police have arrested a man they say evaded them multiple times in the past week.
Tanner Matagi, 27, was taken into custody early Friday and booked on initial charges of receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle and failure to respond to an officer’s signal to stop, a second- and third-degree felony, respectively.
“We found a vehicle that had ran from us earlier on in the night,” said West Valley City Lt. Brandon Christiansen. “We believed it to be a stolen vehicle.
“Our officers got behind it and was able to deflate the tires before we attempted a traffic stop knowing it was going to flee from us. Got on I-201 eastbound, we were able to PIT the vehicle, going at very low speeds, and take the male into custody.”
Christiansen said officers believed the suspect had evaded them several times in recent days. The car had been stolen from West Jordan, he added.
“Two tires were deflated. There were no injuries. We think he’s the same person who fled from us multiple times in the past few weeks.”
According to a probable cause statement, Matagi “admitted to knowing the vehicle was stolen and knowing he was fleeing from police.”
