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SALT LAKE CITY — A man accused of leading police on a high-speed chase and using his car to hit an officer in the process was charged Thursday with attempted aggravated murder.
Tyrel Elsworth Cox, 31, of West Jordan, was charged in 3rd District Court with attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony; failing to stop at an officer's commands, a third-degree felony; and two counts of drug possession, a third-degree felony.
On July 29, officers from several agencies were looking for Cox, who had several warrants out for his arrest. He also had a history of fleeing, according to police.
Cox was seen leaving a house near 3100 South and 3200 West. Because of Cox's history of fleeing from police, a helicopter from the Utah Highway Patrol was called to assist officers. When Cox realized he was being followed, he went west on 3500 South until he reached 5600 West, then went north to state Route 201, reaching speeds of up to 80 mph.
On state Route 201, a Unified police officer successfully spiked the vehicle's tires near Bangerter Highway. Just past Bangerter, Cox veered toward a second officer, Unified police officer Jared Cardon, who was also setting up tire spikes, and hit him.
Cox was traveling between 90 mph and 100 mph at the time, according to charging documents. Another officer saw Cox make a "hard swerve" and dart across all eastbound lanes of traffic and onto the shoulder to hit Cardon, the charges state.
Related:
Police body cam captures 100 mph chase with fleeing felon
Footage from a police body camera captured a West Jordan man with an extensive criminal history fleeing police and then being arrested Wednesday after allegedly hitting a Unified police officer with his car.Cardon reportedly was knocked 10 feet into the air and landed on his back, according to his attorney, Lindsay Jarvis. Amazingly, he suffered no broken bones.
Near 3600 South and 2700 West, police ended the chase using a PIT manuever, bumping Cox's rear panel and causing his car to spin out. Inside Cox's car, investigators found meth, cocaine and "six plastic straws that appeared to be melted and burned," according to the charges.
Prosecutors also noted that Cox has six other pending cases from Farmington to West Jordan, ranging from forgery to fleeing.
On Wednesday, the Utah Fraternal Order of Police made a public plea to Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill to charge Cox with attempted murder, saying anything less would be an insult to police. The group said it is concerned because Cardon's injuries did not accurately reflect the kind of attack Cox allegedly made on him.
Gill, on Wednesday, said his decision would be based on the evidence and not due to any group's requests.
Cox's extensive criminal history in Utah dates back to at least 2001 in adult court, according to court records, and includes convictions for forgery, attempted theft by receiving stolen property and fleeing.
In 2009, Cox was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for convictions of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was later sentenced to another year in federal prison for violating the terms of his supervised released in 2012, according to court records.
