SALT LAKE CITY – Police are searching for a suspect who allegedly used a baseball bat to assault a woman and later assaulted an officer after being confronted while smoking methamphetamine inside of a vehicle Saturday night.
The suspect is believed to be the same person involved in two incidents involving two police agencies.
Salt Lake City police responded to a woman Saturday around 7 p.m. who had been assaulted by a man, reported to be her ex-boyfriend, wielding a baseball bat. The assault occurred at a Top Stop, 1309 Foothill Drive. The woman was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Sgt. Chamberlin Neff of the Utah Highway Patrol said a short time later he was responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle parked not far from the location of the first incident in the area of 1700 South and Foothill Drive. He said at that time he was unaware of the first incident involving SLC PD.
He said he approached the vehicle, which is when the suspect escaped and assaulted the officer in the process.
“Walked up, approached the male–who had been smoking methamphetamine in his driver’s seat,” he said. “The male attempted to flee. The male was tased. The male was successfully able to flee on foot.”
The suspect escaped through the passenger’s side of the vehicle and fled on foot.
Neff said he is OK but declined to provide further details relating to being assaulted by the suspect. Sgt. Todd Royce with UHP said at some point during the encounter the suspect’s vehicle went into reverse and struck a police vehicle. He said dash camera footage of the incident could be released later this week.
Police set up a containment in the area and searched for several hours but were unable to locate the suspect.
The identity of the man is known to police, however Neff said they are not releasing his name at this time. He is described as being a white male who stands between 5-feet 8-inches tall and 6-feet tall. He was last seen wearing jeans and a white hoodie. He was barefoot, and Neff said the man had scrapes on his face.
The suspect is likely to be armed, and Neff said anyone who sees the man or who has knowledge of his whereabouts should call police at 801-887-3800.
