St. George man arrested at gunpoint following multi-agency pursuit across Washington County

Composite image with background photo of police lights in Hurricane by Cody Blowers and overlay stock image by Welcomia/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A St. George man is in custody following a pursuit that involved three agencies and multiple officers that started in Washington City and ended more than an hour later when he was taken into custody at gunpoint.

File photo for illustrative purposes only of Washington City Police officers responding to an incident near Red Robin in Washington City, Utah, Oct. 22, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Police say the pursuit was set in motion at approximately 10:45 p.m. when a Washington City officer monitoring traffic on Telegraph Street noticed a white Toyota hatchback heading east at a high rate of speed. As the car came closer, the driver reportedly stomped on the brakes to slow down.

According to the probable cause statements filed in support of the arrest, the officer pulled in behind the car as it accelerated away and continued east while zigzagging back and forth across both travel lanes. 

As soon as the officer activated his emergency lights, the suspect reportedly sped up as he entered the turn lane approaching the intersection of Telegraph and Washington Parkway, where he then turned left into oncoming traffic. 

“The vehicle was Northbound in the Southbound lanes of traffic with several vehicles oncoming,” the officer noted, adding that it was in an area with a concrete median separating both directions of travel. The officer activated his siren and followed in an effort to warn other motorists of the wrong-way vehicle as the suspect continued heading north into oncoming traffic. 

Emergency dispatch was also advised, which activated a broadcast that was sent out to alert surrounding agencies of the pursuit in progress. 

At around 11 p.m. officers in St. George heard the broadcast and responded to Red Hills Parkway, where one of the officers noticed a Toyota matching the suspect’s car heading east before turning into a parking lot in the 2000 block of East Red Hills Parkway. 

Activating his emergency lights and siren, the officer pulled into the parking lot just as the suspect appeared to have spotted the officer and sped off east at a high rate of speed, and the pursuit was terminated.  

Meanwhile, a patrol officer in Hurricane heard the radio traffic about the pursuit involving a white Toyota that had been terminated in Washington City and then terminated in St. George after the suspect drove from the parking lot off of Red Hills Parkway and appeared to be heading back into Washington City.  

The officer was stationed near 6200 West State Street in Hurricane when he observed a white Toyota pass by heading east, where he followed the car to confirm it was the same license plate as what was reported in the broadcast.  

The officer followed as the suspect continued east on State Street, “swerving all over the road and leaving its lane on both sides,” the report states.  

As soon as the officer activated his emergency lights to stop the car, the suspect accelerated down a number of side streets before returning to State Street, where the pursuit continued west at more than 100 mph. The suspect took the Interstate 15 on-ramp heading south and shortly thereafter the pursuit was terminated. The officer returned to Hurricane where he positioned his patrol vehicle on Southern Parkway near mile marker 18. 

In the meantime, images of the suspect’s vehicle were captured by the body cameras worn by the officers in St. George that were positioned at Exit 8 as the suspect continued south and took the Southern Parkway Exit, where he then headed east in the westbound lane of travel, according to the report.

Minutes later, the Toyota entered Hurricane and continued east on Southern Parkway in the opposite lane of travel, where the car passed by the officer stationed at mile marker 18. The officer dropped in behind the car for the next 2 miles, until the suspect pulled off the highway and stopped near mile marker 20, a few miles from Sand Hollow Road.

File photo for illustrative purposes only of the Southern Parkway overpass at the intersection with SR-9, Hurricane, Utah, April 27, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The officer activated his overhead lights, drew his weapon and ordered the suspect out of the vehicle, the report states. It was not until additional units arrived that the driver surrendered and was taken into custody by police shortly after midnight.  

The suspect was identified as 20-year-old Elvis Guerra Garcia, who was driving on a revoked driver’s license with two active warrants for DUI and alcohol-related offenses.

At 12:10 a.m., Garcia was transported and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility facing a third-degree felony charge of failing to respond to the command of police, as well as five misdemeanor charges that include reckless driving, driving on a suspended license, having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle, minor in possession of alcohol and possession of a controlled substance. 

Once officers in Washington City and St. George learned of the arrest, three charges were added, including two third-degree felony counts of evading and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving.

The suspect is being held without bail.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders 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.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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