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HOLLADAY — Two men who police say smashed into three vehicles, including a Unified police truck, were arrested late Thursday.
The incident began about 5 p.m. when someone broke into a locker at the Lion's Club, 1660 E. Murray-Holladay Blvd., and took a set of car keys and a wallet. They then used the fob on the key chain to find the owner's Nissan Versa in the parking lot, said Unified Police Lt. Lex Bell.
The vehicle, however, had two cellphones in it that police used to track the stolen car using the Find My Phone app. The app, however, was not in real time, so officers were always just a couple of steps behind. By the time police found the abandoned vehicle, the suspects had used a credit card in the wallet to purchase three Visa gift cards, Bell said.
The thieves had gotten into a new car by that time but kept the phones with them, Bell said. By 9 p.m., investigators tracked the men to an alley near 800 East and 2300 South. They were driving a Subaru Outback that was reported stolen on Jan. 2 in Salt Lake City after it had been left unattended to warm up.
The alley had only one way in and out. One officer drove in to confront the duo while another blocked the entrance.
"When the officer turned on his lights, the suspect drove around one police car, slammed into a civilian car and pushed it out of the way, then slammed head-on into one of our police trucks and pushed it out of the way," Bell said. "Basically just rams his way out of there."
After hitting the police car, one man got out and tried to run but was quickly arrested.
The other man continued fleeing in the damaged vehicle but crashed into a third vehicle a short time later at 500 East and 2700 South. The lieutenant said the vehicle ran a red light and T-boned the front end of another Subaru, taking off its front end.
Tyler Lee Anderson, 31, was taken to a holding cell at the Salt Lake County Jail. Nathan Medrano, 31, was booked into jail on warrants. Both men were expected to be booked for investigation of aggravated assault on a police officer, leaving the scene of an injury accident and possession of stolen property.
Neither the officer nor the man in the third vehicle that were hit were injured.
Both men who were arrested have long criminal histories, according to Utah state court records. A woman that was also in the back seat of the fleeing vehicle was questioned and released after detectives determined she was not involved, Bell said.
