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WEST VALLEY CITY — Two men and a teen suspected in a road rage incident were taken into custody following a short vehicle pursuit that ended with an officer using a vehicle immobilization maneuver, police said.
Melquiavez Ramirez, 24, Sergio Rodriguez, 20, and another individual, whose name was not released because of age, were each arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, a second-degree felony, and failure to stop at an officer's command, according to Salt Lake County jail records.
Ramirez was also booked on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, while Rodriguez was also booked in relation to a probation violation, according to jail records.
The sequence of events began when police responded to a road rage report near 3500 S. Bangerter Highway shortly after 9:30 p.m. Saturday, according to West Valley police Lt. Steve Burke.
Burke said that a woman reported that someone had shot the car she was riding in with her husband and child.
According to a jail record report, the woman told police she was in the front passenger seat of a car that her husband was driving when a vehicle pulled up behind them and started honking and riding the bumper of their car.
According to the report, Ramirez was the driver of the vehicle and Rodriguez was the rear passenger of the car that began honking at the woman.
That vehicle then pulled to the side of family's vehicle, where an argument occurred.
The woman told police that she informed the individuals that there was a child in their car before the front passenger of the other car "pulled an assault rifle up pointing it at her and making the comment that 'he didn't care,'" according to the report.
The individuals' car then backed slightly behind the woman before a shot rang out, the report stated.
Burke said the bullet struck the family's vehicle, but the woman and other occupants of the vehicle were unharmed.
The woman gave police a description of a vehicle and the shooter.
An officer doing paperwork outside of a building near 1500 West and 3100 South spotted that vehicle and a pursuit ensued when the officer attempted to pull the vehicle over.
The pursuit ended just in front of the Redwood Junction TRAX station, which is located at 1740 W. Research Way (2770 South), when the officer used a pursuit immobilization technique, Burke said.
“When they were coming around the corner, the officer noticed there were two people walking in the roadway. Seeing they were in danger, (the officer) attempted to do a PIT maneuver, which brought this to a stop,” Burke said.
Ramirez, Rodriguez and the juvenile then fled on foot, but were then taken into custody shortly after and booked into jail. A Breathalyzer test administered during Rameriz's arrest showed his blood-alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit, according to the jail report.
