HEBER CITY, Utah – A Wal-Mart was evacuated as police arrested an inmate who had escaped from a work crew, and officials removed what they called an incendiary device from the store.
The incident began Friday at about 11:15 a.m. after a Utah Department of Corrections inmate-trustee who was supposed to be on a work crew removing asbestos from Wasatch High School could not be located by authorities and dispatch officials requested help finding the man.
Officials later identified the man as 35-year-old Larry Clifford Newman, who is pictured below.
According to a press release from the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect was located in a bathroom at a Wal-Mart in Heber City after someone told police they had seen someone matching the inmate’s description.
The press release stated an officer, “found what appeared to be a metal pipe with electric wires attached; the device was located near the prisoner.” Police evacuated the Wal-Mart as a precaution. Police officers on scene initially told FOX 13 News they believed the pipe was an incendiary device of some kind.
The Utah County Bomb Squad responded, secured the device and destroyed it without further incident.
In the press release, Sheriff Bonner stated: “This is another great example of how well our community and their law enforcement communicate with and support one another. As deputies were proactively providing Newman’s description to nearby schools, one of the employees told deputies about a man that matched the description and had just asked her, while at Walmart, for a ride to Provo—I don’t even want to think where we would be without this wonderful lady and her vital piece of the puzzle! Similarly, on behalf of our community, I would like to thank the officers involved for their professionalism and for the way they work so well together—they are a great team!”
