Man arrested after several car chases around Salt Lake Valley

A forensics team collects evidence as it processes a crash scene at 1300 South and 400 West in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, following reports of a man assaulting a police officer then stealing a truck from a construction site and crashing at this location.

A forensics team collects evidence as it processes a crash scene at 1300 South and 400 West in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, following reports of a man assaulting a police officer then stealing a truck from a construction site and crashing at this location. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)


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HOLLADAY — A man facing charges in several cases in multiple counties was arrested again Tuesday after leading police from several agencies on multiple chases, ramming a police vehicle and crashing a pair of stolen vehicles, according to police.

The wild series of events began about 10:15 a.m. when a man in a stolen vehicle hit two parked cars near 2350 East and 4900 South. Officers responding to the area spotted the driver, later identified as 31-year-old Jesse Paul Ulibarri, according to Unified police.

The officers were able to catch Ulibarri after running after him. But during the ensuing scuffle, Ulibarri was able to break free and run again, said Unified Police Sgt. Melody Cutler. Ulibarri ran to a construction area near the old Cottonwood Mall and jumped into a Ford F350 work truck with the keys still inside, she said.

As Ulibarri took off, he hit the front of a Unified police vehicle, taking off its bumper, Cutler said.

Investigators learned that the stolen pickup had a GPS tracker. About 11:20 a.m., police located the vehicle in Taylorsville and attempted to take Ulibarri into custody, but he again fled, Cutler said. Unified police stopped chasing the pickup about five minutes later due to safety precautions. Cottonwood Heights police continued chasing the vehicle onto I-215 before also terminating their pursuit. The truck was last seen driving on state Route 201 near 900 West.

The stolen pickup was spotted again some time later after it crashed on the off-ramp from I-15 to 1300 South, according to Cutler. The truck rolled, but Ulibarri got out and ran again.

Numerous agencies converged on the area and eventually found Ulibarri hiding in an industrial area near 700 West and 1250 South just before 1 p.m., she said. He was found hiding "in an abandoned trolley, on top of a fuel container," according to a police booking affidavit. Ulibarri was taken to a local hospital to be checked out for minor injuries he sustained in the crash before he was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of 18 potential charges, including aggravated assault on law enforcement, two counts of assault on a police officer, three counts of being in a stolen vehicle, and five counts of fleeing from police.

Tuesday's arrest is the latest in a recent string of crimes Ulibarri is accused of committing.

  • He was charged Jan. 27 with theft by receiving stolen property, forgery and drug possession with intent to distribute after police found him in a stolen car with drugs, according to court records.
  • Those charges came two days after he was charged with theft by receiving stolen property, unlawful acquisition of a financial card and possession of another person's documents. In that case, Ulibarri was arrested after police say he got into a stolen vehicle in South Salt Lake.
  • On Jan. 19 he was charged with two counts of unlawfully possessing a financial card and trespassing, after being arrested in a home burglary investigation in Salt Lake City.
  • On Dec. 8, Ulibarri was charged in 4th District Court with unlawful acquisition of a financial card, shoplifting and failing to stop for police. In that case, Ulibarri was spotted taking items from a store in American Fork and getting into a stolen van where police also found stolen bank cards and drugs, according to charging documents. A warrant was later issued in that case for failing to show up in court.

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Pat Reavy interned with KSL NewsRadio in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL NewsRadio, Deseret News or KSL.com since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.
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