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VERNAL — A man whose blood-alcohol content was four times over the legal limit, according to police, was arrested Thursday for allegedly stealing a semitruck.
Edward William Ford III, 44, was arrested for investigation of vehicle theft, DUI, two counts of aggravated assault and a driver license violation.
His arrest comes less than two months after he was convicted of a similar crime of stealing a vehicle while highly intoxicated.
About 11 p.m. Thursday, the Uintah County Sheriff's Office said Ford, who was drunk, walked onto a property near 800 E. Main St., got into a semitruck parked in the back, and started to drive off.
The homeowner heard the truck and quickly got into his car to chase after it. The owner attempted to use his vehicle to block the truck from moving and stood in front of it with another person, according to the sheriff's office. That's when Ford drove onto another person's lawn to avoid hitting the car and tried to run both people over, investigators said.
The semitruck later crashed through a fence and into a tree near 26 N. 1500 East. Deputies say Ford stumbled into a nearby field after crashing the truck where he was caught and arrested.
Ford was convicted March 18 for attempted theft, a third-degree felony; and DUI, according to Utah state court records. In that case, prosecutors say Ford was pulled over on a routine traffic stop on Jan. 23. The officer noted that the rear passenger window was broken out and Ford was trying to hide the steering column with a blanket.
When the officer asked him whether the car was stolen, Ford told him probably, according to police. When asked whether he had been drinking, Ford allegedly said he had had one beer. Investigators later determined his blood-alcohol level was at 0.335, or more than four times the legal limit, according to court records.
He was scheduled to be sentenced on that case on May 26.
In January, Ford pleaded no contest to intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.
