2 arrested, including wanted fugitive, and accused of fighting with police

TAYLORSVILLE — A parole fugitive was arrested early Monday and accused of fighting with police in an attempt to get away, and a woman he was with was also arrested for allegedly trying to interfere.

Marco Dunigan, 42, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of attempting to disarm a police officer, assault on an officer, failing to stop for police and giving false information to police.

Jaycie Nichole Reed, 33, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of obstruction of justice.

Early Monday, Tayorsville police pulled over a vehicle near 4500 S. Redwood Road.

"The driver of the vehicle was cooperative. The front-seat passenger was subsequently identified as Marco Dunigan, who had an active third-degree felony Board of Pardons warrant for his arrest," a police booking affidavit states.

Police say the driver, who was cooperative, was on "federal probation." Dunigan, however, initially gave police a false name and birth date, according to the affidavit.

While police were checking the name Dunigan had given them, he moved from the front seat to the back seat, the affidavit states. Officers suspected he was getting ready to run and ordered him to get out of the car.

"Instead of getting out, he tried to push past me and take off on foot. I grabbed for his wrist to get control of him and ended up falling backward onto the ground with him on top of me. The assisting officer grabbed onto his back to help get him into custody. I kept telling him to stop, but he kept fighting," the affidavit states.

The two officers and Dunigan ended up on the ground fighting. While on the ground, police say Dunigan attempted to grab one of the officers' guns, according to the affidavit.

"He kept fighting, and at one point he hit me in the face with his hand, which left a small cut on my upper lip. I also saw him put his left hand on my holstered gun," the arresting officer wrote in the affidavit.

"Due to the high-level threat and continuous active aggression," a Taser was used on Dunigan "numerous times," the affidavit states.

The initial Taser deployment "didn't seem to have any effect on him," police say. "He got back up and tried to run again. I grabbed his shirt to stop him from getting away and deployed my Taser, hitting him with five probes, which worked.

"Following an extended physical struggle, Mr. Dunigan was successfully placed in handcuffs and taken into custody," the affidavit states.

During the fight between Dunigan and police, Reed "exited the vehicle and interfered with our attempts to secure the arrest. Both officers ordered Jaycie to return to the vehicle. She refused commands, continuously yelled at officers, closed the distance, and approached directly next to the physical struggle," police wrote in their affidavit.

Police say Reed continued to interfere even when an officer threatened to deploy a Taser on her. She was arrested after backup officers arrived.

Related topics