SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — A police pursuit covered more than 80 miles during the early morning hours on Monday.
According to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, a Jeremy Ranch resident reported a suspicious truck in their neighborhood, and when a deputy arrived to check it out around 1:45 a.m., the truck took off.
With a potentially stolen mountain bike in the bed of the truck, police pursued the vehicle from Jeremy Ranch, down a dirt road toward East Canyon, eventually reaching Henefer. A Summit County deputy laid down spike strips as the truck neared town.
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“The truck continued to drive through some of the residential streets in Henefer, ultimately stopped in the backyard of someone’s residence,” said Lt. Andrew Wright with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
The driver and passenger both ran from the vehicle. The deputy in pursuit followed the passenger on foot, while the driver headed the other direction. Police say he found another truck with keys left inside and hit the road again. “The deputy who spiked the truck actually was able to gather his spikes, get in his vehicle and he pursued the new stolen truck.”
Numerous law enforcement agencies joined Summit County Sheriff’s Office in Henefer to search from the passenger of the original vehicle while deputies pursued the driver on I-84, I-80 and eventually stopped at the Wyoming state line. Wyoming Highway Patrol stopped the driver at mile marker 23 on I-80, past Evanston. Meanwhile, a drone and K-9 officers worked to locate the remaining individual in Henefer.
“Ultimately it was the Davis County K-9 [Loki], their bloodhound, caught a scent of the guy and found him behind some garbage cans at a residence, so we were able to take him into custody,” said Lt. Wright.
GOOD DOG! 🐕 @DavisSheriffUT K-9 Loki came up BIG early this morning by locating a wanted suspect who was pursued by police and took off running! pic.twitter.com/tgSUt3MBlz
— 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐞 (@brian_schnee) May 18, 2021
The passenger, identified as Brennan Barton of West Valley City, was arrested. According to a probable cause document, he admitted to stealing the bicycle from inside an attached garage at a residence in Jeremy Ranch. Barton could face several charges including felony burglary and theft. Deputies also located drug paraphernalia inside of the vehicle.
The driver of the vehicle, Matthew Peterson of Taylorsville, was arrested in Wyoming. His pending charges are unknown.
The stolen mountain bike has been returned to its owner, but deputies want to remind homeowners to always be mindful of their surroundings and to lock up their valuables.
“If you hear or see something that doesn’t seem right, that’s suspicious, give us a call. That’s what we’re here to do,” said Lt. Wright. “This resident did exactly that, our deputies worked quick to respond, and so they were able to locate the truck very quickly.”
