CEDAR CITY — Police say a man stole a pickup truck in Minersville on Friday afternoon, then led officers on an hourlong chase along dirt roads before being apprehended in a remote area of Iron County.
Beaver County Undersheriff Cody Black told Cedar City News the incident started at approximately 2 p.m. when a Minersville resident left his truck running to go inside a convenience store.
The suspect, who Black said is familiar to local law enforcement, then got in behind the wheel of the pickup, a 2004 Ford F-350 that Black described as a “well-used farm truck.”
“(The owner) had left it running and just for a minute to walk into the gas station and somebody came in and asked him if it was one of his farmhands that had just taken his truck, because he’s driving really reckless,” Black said. “He went out and seeing that his vehicle was gone, called us because he knew it wasn’t one of his farmhands.”
The driver first headed west on Thermal Road and then turned southwest toward Lund and Beryl Junction in Iron County.
Several officers joined in the pursuit, including deputies from Beaver County Sheriff’s Office and Iron County Sheriff’s Office, and Utah Highway Patrol troopers
“They just continually coordinated with each other until the helicopter got on scene,” Black said, noting that an SUU Aviation helicopter was soon deployed with an Iron County Sheriff’s deputy inside.
“Once the helicopter got on scene, we had our guys back off a little ways and let the helicopter just advise on where it was going,” Black said.
At one point during the chase, an officer attempted to deploy spike strips near Lund, but the suspect was able to avoid them, Black said.
A short time later, near the town of Modena, the driver brought the vehicle safely to a stop and was taken into custody without further incident, Black added.
Black said the man was cooperative during his arrest.
“There was very minimum force. He went to the ground on his own and the officers were able to take him into custody.”
“The vehicle was not damaged by spikes, there was no crash, and the owner was able to retrieve his vehicle,” Black added.
After being medically cleared, officers transported the suspect to the Beaver County Correctional Facility in Beaver.
The man, 24-year-old Mckennon Erickson, of Minersville, was subsequently booked on suspicion of multiple charges, including vehicle theft, receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle, failure to stop at command of police, reckless driving and driving on a suspended or revoked license.
Black said he had monitored the incident from the dispatch center, where his role was to make sure it didn’t escalate into a dangerous situation.
“If it would have gotten close to Cedar or somewhere like the St. George area, obviously, we would have just pulled off of it,” he said. “We don’t chase when it becomes too dangerous for the public.”
“But this time, it was in such a low population area,” he added, noting that traffic along those remote dirt roads was minimal, especially in the mid-afternoon.
“We basically had the suspect trapped on the roadway.”
This report is based on information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings. 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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