HENEFER, Utah -- An armed suspect in a pursuit near Henefer has been captured after police followed up on a tip from a citizen, and shots were fired during the pursuit. There were no injuries reported.
Ron Bridge, Summit County Sheriff's Office, said the incident began around 2 p.m. in Morgan County. A press release from police states a deputy made a traffic stop and then identified Jared York, 27, as having an active warrant for assault with substantial bodily injury. The officer attempted to arrest York, who fled in his vehicle eastbound.
After a brief chase, police terminated the pursuit as the vehicle entered Summit County. Deputies were not able to locate the vehicle on I-84, and they reasoned the suspect had exited the freeway somewhere in the city of Henefer. That's when police used an emergency notification system to alert citizens in the area to be on the lookout for York.
A short time later, an employee at a convenience store called police to say York had been in the store and was in the area.
"It was probably one of the most terrifying things of my life," said Allie Greenhalgh, who works at Grumps and was the once who called police. "I had never been in a situation where things could potentially turn deadly like that."
Deputies and highway patrol troopers arrived in the area and saw York fleeing on foot toward the river bottoms of the Weber River. A press release stated York drew a handgun from his waist and pointed it at deputies. Three shots were fired by two Summit County deputies. The bullets did not strike York.
The suspect was eventually surrounded in a wooded field, and at that time York put his handgun to his own head. The release states: "Through intense negotiations, York surrendered to [law] enforcement and was taken into custody."
A female passenger who was in the vehicle was detained as an involved party. The investigation is ongoing, and police said charges will be coming for both York and the female passenger.
The pursuit had forced officials to close both directions of I-84 as officers from several agencies pursued the suspect. The Utah Department of Transportation reported the closure affected the area of I-84 between mile markers 112 and 115. The westbound lanes and one eastbound lane were reopened shortly after 4:30, according to a tweet from UDOT.
