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Whit Johnson reporting He led authorities on a chase, slammed into a patrol car and forced troopers to shock him with Tasers, but tonight 25-year-old Jesse Martinez is behind bars.
Troopers say the chase lasted for quite a long time, about 10 minutes in all, with plenty of twists and turns. It was an extremely dangerous situation, but in this case, the suspect got it worse than anyone else.
At three o'clock in the morning in Ogden, a signal violation prompted what would usually be a routine traffic stop. But when the door on the Hyundai Ascent swung open and a crying woman calmly stepped out, the UHP troopers suddenly found themselves in an all-out high-speed chase.
UHP Sgt. Jeff Nigbur said, "When you get cars or people fleeing from the police that do decide to run stop signs, that do decide to run intersections, it does get extremely dangerous."
It began near 12th Street and Wall Avenue. The man behind the wheel was 25-year-old Jesse Martinez, wanted on felony warrants for a parole violation and burglary. At one point Martinez appeared to have given up, but once again, he took off, weaving in and out of residential neighborhoods.
"We're extremely lucky that nobody got hurt," Sgt. Nigbur said.
The pursuit lasted nearly 10 minutes, until Martinez managed to slam into an Ogden City police car at 800 North and Monroe Avenue. That's when troopers pulled a pit maneuver.
Martinez took off on foot but didn't get very far. It was a trooper's Taser that ultimately brought him face-to-face with justice.
"This is a very dangerous guy that takes those measures to get away from police, so we're very excited to get him into custody and off the road," Sgt. Nigbur said.
Martinez faces a long list of charges ranging from resisting arrest to reckless driving. By the way, troopers later learned that the woman he left crying on the side of the road was his wife.
