COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah – The driver of a car is facing charges and his female passenger was arrested but then released Tuesday night after a brief police pursuit in Cottonwood Heights, and after the chase ended police said they located stolen property and a large amount of methamphetamine in the vehicle.
Sgt. Ryan Schosted of the Cottonwood Heights Police Department said the incident started sometime around 11 p.m. Tuesday when an officer in the area of 8600 South 1300 East observed a vehicle with a temporary tag that wasn’t registered with the state, which Schosted said is often an indication of a fraudulent tag.
The suspect allegedly failed to yield and sped away when the officer initiated the traffic stop, but after a brief chase the vehicle came to a stop. However, that wasn’t the end of the suspect’s attempts to escape.
“Unfortunately, the suspect tried to put it in reverse and hit one of our police cars,” Schosted said. “And then we were able to pull the driver from the vehicle and take him into custody.”
The driver, later identified as 38-year-old Wesley Strickling, was taken to a hospital to be checked out before he was booked into jail. The female passenger was arrested but not booked into jail. Schosted said officers located nearly half of a pound of methamphetamine, as well as other items, in the vehicle.
“There was some stolen property and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia in the car,” he said.
Strickling was later booked for fleeing from police and possession of methamphetamine, and Schosted said he could face further charges that include possession with the intent to distribute.
“The officers got a dangerous person off the road, did a good job as safely as they could, and made a good arrest,” Schosted said.
