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LAYTON — Police are searching for a man they say stole a vehicle with two young children inside and fled from officers Friday afternoon.
The series of events began at about 3:15 p.m. when an officer on routine patrol spotted a man going through trash in a dumpster and acting suspicious at an apartment complex near Gentile St. and Fairfield Road, according to Layton police Lt. Travis Lyman.
Lyman said the officer and the man spoke for a few minutes before the man fled on foot.
"They spoke for several minutes about what (the man) was doing and the officer got his name but was a little concerned he hadn't gotten an accurate name from him, so (the officer) walked back to his car to verify some of the information he got," Lyman said. "As he did that, this man took off running from him."
Lyman said the man circled around the apartment complex on foot before he saw a vehicle, a white 2006 Toyota Corolla, with its doors open and engine running.
"There was a man and a woman right there with the car — the guy was working on the car and the woman was attending to two small children that were in the car," he said. "The suspect ran and jumped into the driver's seat. A brief struggle ensued with the guy whose car it was and the suspect while the mom was trying to get the kids out of the car. The suspect was able to put it in reverse and back out and drive away."
Nearby surveillance video shows the mother of the children being knocked down from one of the open doors of the car as the individual backs out and drives off in the car.
The driver continued for a few blocks until he stopped to let the kids out of the car at a nearby department store park lot. The man then continued to flee, Lyman said. He added police were alerted by a witness that saw the man drop off the children and drive away.
Neither child — a 3-year-old and an infant — was harmed.
Police located the stolen car shortly after and began a pursuit that led them to I-15. Lyman said police attempted to stop the vehicle using a spike strip but were unable to and the pursuit was called off due to high speeds.
Police said the Corolla has the license plate X923ZU and was last seen driving southbound on I-15. The man is described as a white male approximately 25 to 30 years old with a long ponytail and “W” tattoo on his cheek.
Picture of Layton car theft suspect. Tattoo sleeved arm, pony tail, and tattoo of "W" on cheek pic.twitter.com/1IckzNTn4D
— Layton Police (@laytonpolice) January 13, 2017
Layton police are asking anyone who may have any information to call 801-497-8300.
More information will be added as soon as it is made available.
