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MIDVALE — A woman was arrested Thursday after police say she rammed a patrol car and continued to try and flee, even though all four of her tires were shredded.
Kenedi Trujillo Tanpirak, 24, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of aggravated assault targeting law enforcement, being in a stolen vehicle, not obeying an officer's command to stop, and giving information pretending to be another person.
Just before 2 a.m. Thursday, a Unified police officer spotted a car that was reported stolen out of West Jordan at a motel in Midvale, according to a police affidavit. The officer kept an eye on the vehicle and watched as Tanpirak and another man got inside and started driving away.
Other Unified officers set up tire spikes in the area of 7200 South and 300 West in anticipation of the suspects fleeing, the affidavit states. As Tanpirak approached the intersection at 7060 S. State, tire spikes were deployed by police.
"The suspect driver slows the vehicle, observing the spikes, but then accelerates and passes over the top of the tire-deflating device, resulting in all four vehicle tires going immediately flat," police wrote in the affidavit.
Tanpirak still continued to flee on State Street until all the tire rubber was gone and the wheels were down to the rims, according to the affidavit. She then crossed into oncoming traffic due to not being able to control the car anymore, police said.
Near 5900 S. State, Tanpirak again lost control of the car, which spun around and was now facing a Unified police car that was pursuing her, according to the affidavit. Despite having a police car in front of her, officers say Tanpirak hit the gas pedal and rammed the police vehicle.
Other officers were now standing outside Tanpirak's vehicle and ordering her at gunpoint to get out, but she continued "to accelerate, causing the tires to spin and emit sparks, still attempting to flee from police," according to the affidavit.
Police then pulled Tanpirak out of the car and placed her into custody. When officers asked for her ID, Tanpirak allegedly gave them her sister's name. But police soon learned she was lying and "has a history of using her sister's name when in contact with police," the affidavit states.
Tanpirak then claimed in an excited utterance, 'I wanted to stop, but my boyfriend made me go! He told me the car was stolen and to not stop!'" the affidavit states.
According to police, Tanpirak has a "long history" of giving false information to police when arrested and "shows complete disregard for being responsible for her actions." The affidavit also notes that in November, Tanpirak was a passenger in a stolen vehicle with the same man, and "although not booked on that incident, she admitted that she was aware the male had a history of stealing vehicles. In December of 2020, this female suspect was arrested twice for being in possession of a reported stolen vehicle and during each of those incidents, was successful in providing false information to officers using her younger's sister's information."
The other man, Jaxon Bruce Carroll, 34, was arrested in November after police found him in a stolen car and had to pull him from the vehicle when he didn't obey officers' commands to get out, according to a police affidavit. Most recently, Carroll was arrested by Salt Lake police on Jan. 17 for investigation of burglary. Carroll has an extensive criminal history, according to court records.
