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PROVO — A man with a history of fleeing from police has been charged again with leading them on a chase and this time trying to hit officers.
Adam Charles Cowgill, 33, of Springville, was charged Thursday in 4th District Court with three counts of assault on a police officer, a second-degree felony; two counts of failing to stop for police and two counts of aggravated assault, third-degree felonies; unlawful possession of a weapon, a class A misdemeanor; interfering with an arrest, a class B misdemeanor; and several driving misdemeanors including DUI, reckless driving, driving on a suspended license and driving without an interlock device.
On Sunday, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper attempted to pull Cowgill over for speeding on I-15 in Utah County.
"The defendant looked at the officer, brake checked him and flipped him off and accelerated away," according to charging documents.
The trooper "observed the defendant swerving at other vehicles as he drove" and backed off the pursuit, following from a distance, the charges state. Near Benjamin, troopers and Utah County sheriff's deputies spotted Cowgill pulled off to the shoulder of the road.
A deputy pulled off to the side to wait for backup, but Cowgill started his car and sped toward the deputy's vehicle, forcing him to drive off the road into weeds to avoid being hit, according to the charges.
From there, Cowgill went north on I-15 with speeds exceeding 110 mph, troopers say. During the ensuing chase, Cowgill swerved at two officers and hit his brakes in an attempt to get a third to run into the back of his vehicle, the charges state.
For safety, troopers backed off their pursuit and let the Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter follow Cowgill. He got off the freeway at 12300 South and pulled into a parking lot, got out of his car and ran, according to police.
The charges accuse Cowgill of holding a knife at that time and deputies deployed Tasers twice to arrest him.
In 2011, Cowgill was arrested for leading police on another chase. After his arrest he was taken to a local hospital. It was there where he informed investigators that he was able to make himself become invisible, according to police. He was convicted of the class A misdemeanor in 2012.
