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MT. OLYMPUS — A Sandy man was quickly captured by police early Friday after allegedly carjacking a Good Samaritan and then abandoning the car on the freeway.
Just after 1 a.m., a man in a Surbaru was approached by another man at a 7-Eleven, 3000 E. 3300 South, who asked him for a ride, said Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal. But as soon as they started driving, the suspect turned violent on the Good Samaritan.
"As they began driving away from the 7-Eleven, the suspect told him he was taking his car and then began to cut him with the knife," Hoyal said.
The driver pulled over near a gas station at 3943 S. Wasatch Blvd. The driver got out and the suspect drove off with the Subaru, Hoyal said. The man suffered several cuts to his arm, but did not need to be transported to a hospital.
The carjacker drove along nearby Jupiter Drive, and was driving recklessly enough that he caught the attention of firefighters at a Unified Fire Authority station, the lieutenant said.
The firefighters called police and a short time later, officers found the Subaru abandoned in the middle of a travel lane on I-215 near 5000 South. The knife allegedly used in the attack as well as the suspect's cellphone were still in the car, according to a Salt Lake County Jail report.
Not long after that, officers searching the area found the suspect who had walked uphill from the freeway to Wasatch Boulevard near 4300 South. He initially gave officers a false name because he knew he had warrants out for his arrest, the report states.
The entire carjacking incident lasted about 40 minutes, Hoyal said.
Gabriel K. Urry, 20, of Sandy, was booked into jail for investigation of aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, providing false information to police and possession of drug paraphernalia. He also had warrants out of Sandy Justice Court for criminal mischief, theft, shoplifting and drug paraphernalia in three separate cases, according to court records.
Since October 2013, Urry has had a number of run-ins with the law, according to court records. He was charged with felony drug distribution in November of 2013 after police allegedly caught him smoking cocaine. That case was later dismissed after Urry pleaded guilty in a similar case in which he was caught by security at The Gateway shopping center shooting heroin in a restroom. He was sentenced to probation.
Contributing: Nicole Vowell
