Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
HERRIMAN — Police say a woman who shares a last name with a shooting suspect lied to detectives investigating the case over the weekend.
Officers arrested Tasha Llewelyn, 50, of Riverton late Tuesday in connection with the Saturday shooting that led to a daylong manhunt in Herriman. They would not say if she was related to the alleged gunman, Justin Gary Llewelyn, 33, who is still at large.
Information obtained from telephone search warrants Tuesday showed that Tasha Llewelyn "knew about the suspect's involvement in this crime and took steps to be untruthful" with police Saturday, according to a probable cause statement.
She and Misty Llewelyn, 24, also of Riverton, were in Salt Lake County jail late Tuesday for investigation of obstructing justice. Their arrests followed brief lockdowns at schools nearby on Tuesday afternoon. A probable cause statement for Misty Llewelyn was not immediately available.
Authorities declined to specify the suspect's relationship to the two women arrested Tuesday and did not give information about a third person who had earlier been questioned by police.
Salt Lake and Unified police worked jointly to round up the three about 3 p.m. and take them to the Salt Lake City Police Department for questioning. The trio were acquaintances of Llewelyn who were believed to "have some knowledge as to what's going on and maybe where our suspect is," detective Greg Wilking said.
The three were taken from the scene in handcuffs.
Nearby schools were placed on lockout as a precaution, Wilking said. Blackridge, Foothills and Silver Crest elementary schools and Fort Herriman Middle School went into a lockout mode, meaning no one could enter the building.
Tuesday's activity was part of the ongoing search for Llewelyn, whom police consider "armed and extremely dangerous." Salt Lake City police are offering a cash reward for information leading to his arrest, though they are not saying how much.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call 801-799-4420. Anyone caught harboring Justin will be arrested and prosecuted. We encourage Justin to turn himself in to Police.
— SLC Police Dept. (@slcpd) January 24, 2018
Just before 6 a.m. Saturday, investigators say Llewelyn shot at at least two Unified police officers near the Monarch Meadows Apartments, 13469 S. Dragonfly Lane (4835 West), who then returned fire. He then broke into a nearby apartment, shot a man and took his car, according to police. The victim's injuries were not considered to be life-threatening.
An extensive search was conducted in Herriman and police searched at least two homes belonging to Llewelyn's relatives who live in the area.
Wilking acknowledged that Llewelyn "could be just about anywhere at this point."
He also cautioned that anyone who knows where Llewelyn is and doesn't tell police could be arrested and charged with a crime.
He has an extensive criminal history over the past 15 years with prior convictions for aggravated assault, attempted aggravated assault, felony drug possession, DUI, burglary of a vehicle, joyriding, theft by deception, retail theft, attempted theft and several other offenses, according to court records.
Contributing: Annie Knox
