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CLEARFIELD — A Grantsville man who police say walked onto I-15 holding a gun, forcing officials to shut down the freeway for hours on Monday, had been out of jail for about a week after being charged with robbing a Walmart store.
Christopher Scott Lewis, 35, was arrested and booked into the Davis County Jail early Tuesday for investigation of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, failing to stop for law enforcement, drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.
On Tuesday, Clearfield police officer Travis Collings was attending to a traffic accident when he was notified of a man slumped over the steering wheel of a car at 650 North under the I-15 overpass, according to a jail report.
"When I made contact with the male, he was slumped over drooling on the ground. I shook the male and he woke up. I asked him if he was all right. He said he wasn't sure, then later said he was fine," the report states.
The officer then asked the driver, Lewis, if he was a drug user, and he responded "yes," according to the report. "I then asked him to straighten out his arms. I could see fresh track marks up both arms. I asked Christopher if he was high. He said no and that he hasn't used since last night."
The officer told Lewis that he needed to get back to the crash he was investigating, and that Lewis needed to walk over to his police patrol car and wait for him.
"He said he didn't want to. I told him that if he did not come to my vehicle, I would place him in handcuffs and put him in my car. Christopher then came over and sat by my vehicle while I finished my investigation," the officer wrote.
As a backup officer arrived at the scene, "Christopher walked to the back of my car, pulled a gun out and said he was going to kill himself. Christopher was told to drop the gun. Christopher then fled on foot ignoring commands to drop the gun and stop. He was stopped on the I-15 650 North overpass," the report states.
After a nearly four-hour standoff on I-15, primarily during the afternoon commute, law enforcement deployed pepper-spray projectiles and took him into custody. During the standoff, Lewis pointed his gun at this head but not at other officers, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.
The freeway was shut down from northbound 700 South to 5600 South in Roy and southbound 5600 South in Roy to 700 South in Clearfield.
The officer noted in his report that Lewis was supposed to be wearing an ankle monitor but had cut it off.
Lewis currently faces charges in Tooele's 3rd District Court of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, plus threat of terrorism and escaping from custody, third-degree felonies.
Lewis is accused of robbing a Walmart in Tooele on Sept. 21. Officers arriving at the scene spotted Lewis wearing a Halloween mask and carrying a television, a drone and a machete," according to a police affidavit.
Related:
Man taken into custody, freeway reopened following hours-long closure in Clearfield
Both directions of I-15 were closed in Clearfield during rush hour Monday evening while police negotiated with a man who walked onto the freeway median and pointed a gun at himself, Utah Highway Patrol said.Just prior to the robbery, police received a call of a bomb threat at the Walmart. Lewis told police that he stole the TV and drone to pay off a drug debt, the affidavit states. The person whom he allegedly owed the debt to was apparently waiting for Lewis in the store parking lot and had threatened him the night before, police say.
"Mr. Lewis said he took the machete with him to make sure he had protection," according to the report. "Mr. Lewis also admitted to calling dispatch and making a false bomb threat. Mr. Lewis said he was trying to make a diversion from the drug dealer that was waiting on him and he was planning on using the bomb threat to get away from the drug dealer."
After he was arrested, Lewis was taken to a local hospital to be checked out. But Lewis ran out of the hospital after arriving, the affidavit states. He was re-arrested at a convenience store near the hospital. He was released from the Tooele County Jail on Oct. 1.
Lewis' lengthy criminal history also includes convictions for receiving a stolen vehicle in 2017; attempted theft in 2016, during which he ran away from police after being placed in a patrol car, prompting a half-hour search, according to court records; aggravated arson in 2015; theft in 2013; drug possession in 2011; theft in 2010 and 2011; drug possession in 2008; prescription forgery in 2008; drug possession twice in 2003; and theft in 2002.
