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WEST VALLEY CITY — Police are looking for man who carjacked a vehicle Saturday morning in what the victim claims was a drug deal gone wrong.
West Valley Police Lt. Dalan Taylor said officers were called to a Wal-Mart parking lot, at 5675 W. 6200 South, by the owner of a stolen car. The man told police he had made arrangements to buy drugs from another man, and when the alleged drug dealer arrived, he pulled a gun and stole the man's car.
“A Unified police officer saw the vehicle speeding down the road and attempted to stop it for speeding,” Taylor said. “He did not know at the time that the carjacking had taken place.”
The carjacker fled from that officer, Taylor said, and crashed the vehicle into a fence, at 4900 S. 4055 West. Police believe he fled on foot.
“We did a search of the area with K9s and officers, but we were not able to locate the suspect,” Taylor said.
The car thief is described as a Hispanic male with short hair, who was wearing a white hoodie. Anyone with information on his identity is asked to contact West Valley police dispatch at 801-840-4000.
Police did not take the car owner into custody, Taylor said. While he admitted to being in the parking lot in order to buy drugs, he was not in possession of any and therefore had not committed a crime.
Contributing: Brianna Bodily
