Fugitive wanted for assault on officer taken into custody after wrong-way ride on I-15


 
TAYLORSVILLE, Utah, Jan. 13, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A suspect police described as a “very dangerous person” was taken into custody late Saturday night after he fled from officers in Kearns, drove the wrong way on Interstate 15, and finally crashed his vehicle at a Fresh Market in Taylorsville.

Lt. Paul Barker, of the Unified Police Department, told Gephardt Daily that detectives received information Saturday evening about a wanted person driving an Isuzu Rodeo in the Kearns area.

“Detectives in unmarked cars set up in the area and spotted the suspect sitting in his car at Auto Zone on 5400 South, just west of 40th West,” Barker said.

The Department of Public Safety helicopter was called, because it was anticipated that the suspect would flee. And flee he did.

Barker said the man, identified as 33-year-old Brock Fenstermaker, was wanted for multiple felony warrants, plus aggravated assault on a police officer after he allegedly tried to run over a Clearfield officer during a recent traffic stop.

On Saturday night, as Fenstermaker began to drive away, the detectives and the helicopter followed.

He fled west on 5400 South into West Jordan, where officers there were able to spike the vehicle’s tires.

Barker said the suspect then went eastbound on 7800 South into Midvale and eventually got onto I-15, recklessly driving north in the southbound lane.

That’s when officers terminated the pursuit, because it’s against policy to chase a vehicle going the wrong way on the freeway. And the DPS helicopter was still tracking the Isuzu from above.

The suspect left Taylorsville at 4700 South and I-215, came east on 47th down to Redwood, and pulled into the Fresh Market parking lot, where he crashed the Isuzu into a brick and concrete sign upright just outside of the store.

“He tried to run into the store,” Barker said. “We had some information that he was possibly armed, so that was extremely scary, but luckily the doors are locked at that time of night, and by that point, the officers were on top of him and took him into custody.”

Fenstermaker was slightly injured, possibly from crashing his car, Barker said, so he was taken to the emergency room to be evaluated. He was then transported to Davis County Jail, “where he’ll be booked, and Clearfield Police Department can file the charges from their case.”

Barker expressed relief that things turned out well, with the suspect in custody, no one injured, except for the suspect’s minor injury, and “no real structural damage to the Fresh Market.”

He credited everyone involved, including the Utah Highway Patrol helicopter crew, the Metro Gang Unit, and West Jordan Police Department, for the great police work.

Barker said the Isuzu wasn’t stolen, but officials weren’t sure who it belongs to. No weapon was found on Fenstermaker or in the vehicle.

 

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