Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
WEST VALLEY CITY — A man is in custody after a Sunday morning chase with police that involved an attempt to hit an officer with a vehicle, police said.
At around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, an officer stopped a vehicle at 3100 South Redwood Road for a traffic violation, said Lt. Julie Jorgensen of West Valley Police. The occupant of the vehicle, Jared Lance, 34, had a history of drugs and firearms, and as a result the officer called for a K-9 unit to inspect the vehicle, according to Jorgensen.
It is required that the occupant exit the vehicle in these cases, but Lance refused to do so, instead putting the vehicle into drive and attempting to hit the officer next to the vehicle while fleeing, Jorgensen said.
"He locked the door, rolled the windows up," said Jorgensen. "He put the car in drive and turned toward the officer standing at the window."
Officers initiated pursuit on northbound Redwood Road, and later on eastbound Route 201 and northbound I-15, according to Jorgensen.
Speeds on the highway reached about 100 mph, Jorgensen said. During the chase, a female passenger began throwing drugs out the window, according to Jorgensen. Lance also allegedly attempted to hit a Utah Highway Patrol vehicle blocking an intersection, forcing the trooper to throw his car in reverse to avoid being hit.
The pursuit ended in a culdesac in Sandy near 8100 South and 2600 East, where officers pinned Lance and took him into custody. Lance was booked into Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of felony evading, two counts of aggravated assault on an officer and one count of distribution of narcotics, Jorgensen said. One female passenger, identified as Shelly Brown, 26, was arrested on suspicion of evidence tampering, drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and smuggling contraband. A third passenger, an unidentified female, was released.
No one was injured during the chase, and there was no property damage done. Officers did not find any firearms in the vehicle, according to Taylor. Lance was also sentenced to a year in Salt Lake County Jail in 2000 for burglary, according to court records.
Contributing: Pat Reavy
