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SALT LAKE CITY — A Fort Duchesne man who fired a gun during a high-speed chase with Bureau of Indian Affairs officers could spend up to 12 years behind bars.
Jarvis Charlie Cuch, 28, pleaded guilty to assault on a federal officer and possession of a firearm after a felony conviction in U.S. District Court on Monday.
The chase started after officers tried to pull Cuch over for speeding outside Vernal last December. The pursuit hit speeds in town of 90 mph, and as the fleeing vehicle approached Vernal on U.S. 40, it eclipsed 100 mph.
Cuch reached out of the vehicle window and fired two rounds from a .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol during the chase.
Vernal police and Uintah County sheriff’s deputies apprehending Cuch after his tires were spiked and his car came to a stop in Vernal.
A convicted felon, Cuch was prohibited from possessing a gun.
A federal judge sentenced him to 30 months in prison in August 2015 for a firearms violation. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons transferred Cuch to a halfway house in Salt Lake City in August 2016. He left the halfway house without permission in September 2016 and was considered an escapee.
As part of his plea agreement Monday, prosecutors will recommend he spend 12 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 28.
