Man flees deputies on motorcycle, tracked down by K-9 Vinny

Washington County Sheriff's K-9 unit stock image | Photo by Kimberly Scott, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A Southern Utah man was arrested on a variety of charges Saturday after allegedly fleeing from law enforcement on a motorcycle while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The man reportedly gave himself up to authorities as a sheriff’s deputy K-9 neared the area the man had fled to.

Levi Grant Keitz, of Veyo, Utah, booking photo posted March 10, 2018 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

At approximately 4:20 p.m. Saturday, a deputy was patrolling in Brookside when he spotted a man on motorcycle run a stop sign on state Route 18, according to a probable cause statement filed by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in support of the arrest.

When the deputy turned his patrol vehicle around, activating his lights and sirens to pull the motorcycle over, the man – later identified as Levi Grant Keitz, of Veyo – turned up Canal Street, heading east at a high rate of speed, according to the statement.

As the sheriff’s deputy pursued Keitz, who was traveling 50 mph on a 25-mph road, the deputy observed Keitz nearly wreck the motorcycle twice while taking corners on the dirt road, the report states.

At 34 Canal Street, Keitz left the roadway and went into a field before lying the motorcycle down as if he were “trying to hide” from the deputy, the arresting officer wrote in the sworn statement, adding:

The driver left the motorcycle and jumped over a fence, coming down on his head on the other side. The driver got up and fled on foot.

The deputy called for backup and secured the motorcycle, which had no license plate or any other identifying information on it, according to the statement.

When Washington County Sheriff’s K-9 Vinny and his handler arrived on scene, the K-9 began tracking Keitz, locating two clear plastic baggies containing suspected methamphetamine along the way, the deputy wrote, noting that one of the plastic baggies had wet blood on it.

As K-9 Vinny approached an area near the bottom of a hill, Keitz began to call back to the deputies who were able to take Keitz into custody without further incident, the report states.

During questioning, “Levi (Keitz) admitted he ran from officers because he was drunk” and further admitted to using meth sometime within 24 hours of his arrest, according to charging documents. Keitz stated he had borrowed the motorcycle from a friend.

Keitz was transported and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility.

The Washington County Attorney’s Office filed an information in 5th District Court accusing Keitz of two third-degree felony counts of drug possession and failing to stop at the command of police; three class B misdemeanor counts of reckless driving, DUI and possession of drug paraphernalia; a class C misdemeanor count of operating a vehicle without insurance; and an infraction for failing to register a vehicle.

Keitz was subsequently released from police custody on $13,710 bail pending trial. He is scheduled to appear before 5th District Judge Eric A. Ludlow Friday for his initial appearance.

Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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1 Comment

  • mmsandie March 16, 2018 at 8:55 pm

    What a combination drugs and a motorcycle.. results in trouble every time..

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