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OGDEN — A man and woman were arrested early Sunday morning after a routine traffic stop led to an extended chase through Ogden.
Just after 1 a.m., an officer initiated a traffic stop on a silver Kia Soul on the 400 block of 32nd Street because the driver had failed to signal two seconds prior to turning, according to an Ogden City Police Department news release and probable cause statements obtained Sunday.
"The driver shut off the vehicle's headlights and fled," the release says.
The man, later identified as 24-year-old Hunter Spencer Robinson, ran a stop sign and turned onto a dead-end street. The pursuing officer tried to block his vehicle, but Robinson almost rammed it and the officer had to back up, the officer wrote in the affidavit.
Assisting officers attempted three times to spike the vehicle's tires, which was partially successful, but Robinson continued to flee and each time "changed directions considerably in an attempt to strike the officers deploying the strips," the release says.
At some point, Robinson's passenger, later identified as 23-year-old Susie Marie Eberle, threw a can of beer out the window. She also appeared to be giving Robinson directions on how to evade police; she lives in Ogden and Robinson does not, the affidavit says.
During the chase, police say Robinson ran multiple stop signs and red lights and drove against traffic.
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper finally stopped Robinson's vehicle by initiating a PIT maneuver, which involves steering into a vehicle and causing it to turn sideways. Eberle was arrested at the vehicle, but Robinson ran from police on foot.
He was tackled to the ground where he continued to fight, but was subdued by several officers. The release says Robinson "sustained minor scrapes and bruising" from the arrest.
The affidavit says it took "numerous officers several seconds" to "subdue" Robinson with closed-hand strikes.
Upon searching Robinson's vehicle, they found a "distributable" amount of marijuana, empty plastic baggies, a digital scale and a glass pipe, the affidavit says.
Eberle was arrested on suspicion of obstruction of justice; she also had four active warrants for her arrest, police said.
Robinson was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault, reckless driving, and multiple charges related to his failure to stop for police and drug possession. He was also positively identified by a South Ogden officer as the driver who evaded police in the same vehicle a week ago.
