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SOUTH SALT LAKE — A man wanted by several police jurisdictions was arrested in South Salt Lake over the weekend, but not before he allegedly attempted to escape by driving off in a police patrol car while handcuffed.
Donald Shane Andrus, 41, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with escape, a third-degree felony; drug possession, a class A misdemeanor; plus possession of drug paraphernalia and trespassing, class B misdemeanors.
Andrus is also a suspect in a home burglary in Centerville on May 9 where a bicycle and handgun were stolen, according to police.
On Saturday, South Salt Lake police were called to a 7-Eleven where Andrus had locked himself in the women's restroom and refused to come out, according to charging documents. After he was taken into custody, police reported finding syringes and drugs.
While at the police station, Andrus was in the back of a patrol car while an officer went inside and another officer in another car was watching him, the charges state.
Andrus, whose hands were cuffed behind his back, managed to slide his hands in front of his body, get out of the back of the patrol car and get into the front, according to investigators.
An officer watching this got out of his car, reached into the vehicle "and held (a) Taser to Andrus' hip," the charges state.
Andrus yelled and tried to push the officer off of him and managed to put the car in drive, according to the charges. As the car moved across the parking lot, "officers continued to struggle with Andrus and were able to put the patrol car into park and turn it off."
Centerville police said Andrus is also wanted in Colorado for a parole violation and in Nevada for a weapons offense. "(He) is considered armed and has violent tendencies," Centerville police stated.
Andrus' criminal history in Utah dates back to the late 1990s, and he has served time in the Utah State Prison, according to court records.
