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MIDVALE — A man wanted for parole violations was arrested Thursday after police say he crashed a stolen car into a house.
An officer spotted the stolen car near 7800 South and Redwood Road just after 3 a.m. Thursday and was following at a distance when the driver, who had merged onto eastbound I-215, spotted the officer and sped off, according to Unified Police Lt. Lex Bell.
A gang detective in an unmarked car spotted the car again getting off at State Street and heading south before turning onto 6790 South, still speeding.
The detective turned onto 6790 South but couldn't see the car, eventually finding it where it had crashed into the front room of a home at 6789 S. 300 East, which sits at the T-junction of the two streets, Bell said.
"The car had gone airborne across 300 East at a high rate of speed and literally hit the front door," he said. "The car was all the way inside of the home."
The family's children were inside the home at the time but were unharmed. This is the third time in the past several years that a car has crashed into that home, homeowner Steve Carpenter said.
"I (took) a picture of a vehicle in my living room, you can't even get through," he said. "Last time it was about $40,000 worth of damage."
Carpenter expressed his ongoing frustration Thursday about speeding in his neighborhood, talking about installing concrete barriers at the end of the street to block off his home.
"Something has got to be done with this street, it's ridiculous," he said. "The last time it happened we installed landscape boulders in the front, but with the speed of this vehicle, it didn't do anything to stop it. … I've got the keep the kids safe in the house."
The driver, Marcus "Bigfoot" Melvin, 33, escaped out a side door of the home before the detective arrived, but police arrested his two passengers, Morgan Winger, 30, and Mary Krmzyan, 29, Bell said.
Police began searching the area for Melvin, but it wasn't until 6:40 a.m. that the homeowner spotted him hiding on the roof of a tall shed, according to Bell. Melvin jumped off the shed and ran, but was soon caught and arrested.
After a hospital evaluation, Melvin was transported to the Utah State Prison for parole violations. Winger and Krmzyan were both bound for Salt Lake County Jail, though Krmzyan asked to be taken first to a hospital for psychological concerns following "extensive drug use overnight," Bell said.
Police believe a gun, wrapped in a blue bandana, may have been thrown from the vehicle somewhere along I-215, the lieutenant said. Police were searching for the gun Thursday, requesting that anyone who finds a firearm in the area refrain from touching it and call Unified police at 801-743-7000.
Investigators were evaluating the scene Thursday and a Midvale city engineer was being brought in to assess the home.
