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PROVO — A man accused of shooting at police officers on I-15, hitting one bystander and a second vehicle, is also a person of interest in a shooting in Colorado, authorities confirmed Friday.
Arturo Gallemore-Jimenez, 37, remained in Utah Valley Hospital on Friday after being shot by police in the right side of his neck and in the right forearm. His injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Prior to Wednesday night's shootout in Utah, police say Gallemore-Jimenez may have shot a man in Aurora, Colorado, early Tuesday morning.
Information possibly linking him to the Colorado incident was gathered while investigators were interviewing Gallemore-Jimenez at the hospital in Utah County. Based on information collected after his arrest, Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon said Colorado authorities were contacted.
Aurora police spokesman Kenneth Forrest confirmed Friday that a man suffered injuries that were not life-threatening in a Dec. 19 shooting. Gallemore-Jimenez is a "person of interest" in that case, Forrest said.
Once Gallemore-Jimenez was in custody in Utah, detectives were able to start "linking things together," he said.
About 30 hours after the Aurora shooting, Gallemore-Jimenez stopped for gas in Nephi. He was asking other patrons for gas money when he realized he had locked his keys in his truck, according to police.
Customers at the truck stop told him he should call police to get his vehicle unlocked, but he told them he "couldn't afford that," according to Cannon. That's when other patrons reported hearing a gunshot.
"It looks like he shot his own truck to gain access to it," the sergeant said.
Gallemore-Jimenez was stopped about 30 minutes later on I-15 between Spanish Fork and Springville. At that stop, he exchanged gunshots with police.
A 21-year-old Provo man who was pulled off on the side of the freeway about 500 yards away putting fuel in his car that had run out of gas was shot in the shoulder.
Related
Bystander struck by bullet during I-15 shootout, police pursuit
A low-speed police chase and shootout on northbound I-15 Wednesday evening resulted in an injured bystander, according to highway patrol officials.Gallemore-Jimenez got back in his car and continued driving for 9 miles until he crashed into a fence off the side of the freeway near the University Parkway exit in Orem. At that location, there was another exchange of gunfire.
A Chevrolet Duramax carrying a man, woman and their four children was also hit during the shootout. A bullet went through the truck's back window, narrowly missing a 4-year-old boy in a car seat in the back and the father who was driving.
After he was arrested, investigators discovered "multiple firearms" in Gallemore-Jimenez's pickup truck and learned he was wearing body armor, according to the sheriff's office.
Toxicology test results on Gallemore-Jimenez were pending Friday. Sheriff's officials said he has a valid driver's license out of Kansas and a suspended driver's license in Utah.
Gallemore-Jimenez also has a criminal record in Utah "and at least six other states" for charges that include drug possession, DUI, burglary and resisting arrest, according to the sheriff's office.
When he is released from the hospital, Gallemore-Jimenez will be transferred to Salt Lake County and booked into jail there.
