Child custody order leads to Bountiful father’s arrest after chase, violent confrontation with police

File Photo: Gephardt Daily

BOUNTIFUL, Utah, June 13, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — A Bountiful father tried to out-run a court order to turn over his children Monday night, ending in his arrest, police said

Police were serving the court documents on the father requiring he relinquish custody of three children at his home on S. Temple View Drive, but the 37-year-old suspect fled on foot with one of the children, the youngest, a 3-year-old, Bountiful Police Lt. Dave Edwards said.

Reverse 911 calls were made to neighbors to be on the lookout for the fugitive and the child in the incident dispatched at 8:29 p.m.

Officers caught up with the man, Dustin Matthews, after he ran into a wooded area near his home with the child, corralling him within an hour in the area of 979 E 400 N., Edwards said. “He was non-compliant, he fought with the officers.”

An officer stayed with the other two children at the home while the incident was resolved. There were no reports of serious injuries. All three children, the others aged 6 and 8, are now with their mother, Edwards said.

Paramedics were called to the scene and checked the father and the child and neither required transport to a hospital. Summoning ambulances was only done as a precaution, he said.

Matthews now faces charges of kidnapping, obstruction of justice, resisting arrest, assault on a police officer and child endangerment, Edwards said.

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