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SALT LAKE CITY — A man was arrested by Salt Lake City police Friday night after allegedly stealing a patrol car and then crashing.
Stuart Wilson was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of theft of services, drunkenness, theft of a vehicle, assault by a prisoner, criminal mischief, interfering with an arresting officer, disorderly conduct and not having a valid drivers license, according to a news release from the Salt Lake City Police Department.
The release says the investigation started around 10:45 p.m. on Friday, after a Salt Lake police officer left the Gail Miller Resource Center — where the officer was assisting the Salt Lake Fire Department on an unrelated call for service — and realized that their patrol vehicle was missing. Officers and 911 dispatchers immediately began working together to determine the location of the vehicle.
While tracking the stolen patrol vehicle, police received information that the driver had lost control of the vehicle and crashed on Foothill Drive near I-80. Wilson initially refused to exit the vehicle, the release says, but Salt Lake officers and Utah Highway Patrol troopers, were able to take Wilson into custody without incident.
Information from the preliminary investigation has shown that the officer's key fob malfunctioned after the officer locked the doors of the vehicle, the release says, which allowed Wilson to gain access to the vehicle. The key fob is responsible for locking the patrol vehicle and keeping it running securely.
No further details were made available.
