ST. GEORGE – A juvenile driving a car, later reported as stolen, led Utah Highway Patrol and St. George Police officers on a pursuit Wednesday morning, which culminated with a foot chase through a Valley View neighborhood. Throughout the course of the chase, officers recovered two stolen vehicles and the juvenile was caught and taken into custody. Nearby Sunset Elementary was put on lockout from approximately 9-9:30 a.m. until the police contacted the school and cleared them to continue with normal operations.
The pursuit began at approximately 8:20 a.m., by Utah Highway Patrol trooper Joe Pastor, who tried to pull over a blue BMW off Exit 5 in St. George for speeding. The vehicle stopped for a brief period but then took off again and got away from the trooper.
Troopers coordinated with St. George Police officers and tracked down the address listed on the vehicle’s license. The stolen BMW was found to be returned to the address, but upon investigation, it was found that another vehicle from the residence had also been stolen. Once officers made contact with the owner and received a description of the second stolen vehicle, they began pursuit.
The juvenile was located a short time later in an area near Valley View and 400 North, Pastor said. The suspect had abandoned the vehicle. The police began a neighborhood foot-pursuit with the suspect that lasted approximately 30 minutes. Officers set up a perimeter and chased the suspect through the neighborhood until finally catching him around 9:25 a.m.
“After … searching the area for him and a couple foot pursuits where we lost sight of him,” Pastor said, “our containment was able to keep him in an area where we were eventually able to apprehend him.”
Sunset Elementary is approximately three blocks south of the border of the contained area.
During the lockout at Sunset Elementary, administrators reported that all the children were fine – most didn’t even realize what was going on.
“It was fast and quick and the police department took care of us really well,” Sunset Elementary Staff Developer Talia Vaughn told St. George News.
A lockout designation allows the teachers to run their classrooms as normal, but the children are not allowed to go outside. During today’s lockout, all the children who were in satellite classrooms were brought inside the main building while regular school activities continued, Vaughn said.
Ed. note: Juveniles involved in incidents as victims, accused, witnesses or otherwise are not named in light of privacy considerations.
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Police action near Valley View Drive during pursuit for suspect of stolen vehicle St. George, Utah, April 9, 2014 | Photo by and courtesy of Abraham Palmer, St. George News
Police action near Valley View Drive during pursuit for suspect of stolen vehicle St. George, Utah, April 9, 2014 | Photo by and courtesy of Abraham Palmer, St. George News
Police action near Valley View Drive during pursuit for suspect of stolen vehicle St. George, Utah, April 9, 2014 | Photo by and courtesy of Abraham Palmer, St. George News
Police action near Valley View Drive during pursuit for suspect of stolen vehicle St. George, Utah, April 9, 2014 | Photo by Drew Allred, St. George News
Police action near Valley View Drive during pursuit for suspect of stolen vehicle St. George, Utah, April 9, 2014 | Photo by Drew Allred, St. George News
Sunset Elementary went on temporary lockout as St. George Police Department assisted Utah Highway Patrol in a pursuit and arrest. St. George, Utah, April 9, 2014 | Photo by Drew Allred, St. George News
Police action near Valley View Drive during pursuit for suspect of stolen vehicle St. George, Utah, April 9, 2014 | Photo by Drew Allred, St. George News
St. George News Editors Joyce Kuzmanic and Mori Kessler contributed to this report.
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Can’t you at least tell us how old this kid was, and whether it was a boy or a girl? And the statement “Once officers made contact with the owner and received a description of the second stolen vehicle, they began pursuit” doesn’t even begin to make sense.
This story is disjointed, and should be much better written. For someone who “graduated with a writing degree,” Drew leaves a lot to be desired. Hopefully, he will grow up eventually, and realize that what he puts in print, (or on screen,) is a direct reflection of his abilities and intellect.
Good morning, MET – Actually, juveniles involved in incidents as victims, accused, witnesses or otherwise are not named in light of privacy considerations. Therefore, we avoid particulars as well.
We regret you find it disjointed, but it’s because this story as it occurred had multiple joints, loosely outlined: Speeding. Pulled over. Fled. Located car one. Second car determined stolen. Pursuit. Capture. See, several joints.
I hope that helps and we always enjoy hearing from you, MET.
ST. GEORGE NEWS | STGnews.com
Joyce Kuzmanic
Editor in Chief
Thank you Joyce! My point though, is that a reporter should be able to put together a story that makes for good reading, and also makes sense. If it is disjointed, the reporter should be able to at least tie the joints together.
However, I do understand that information gathered from official sources sometimes makes absolutely no sense at all.
Drew! Awesome story. Glad you were able to put the pieces together so quickly. That’s why I enjoy reading stg news. You guys are good at what you do and get the public the correct information faster than other outlets. I wanted to write something because the person above me “My Evil Twin” sounds like an idiot or just one of your competitors upset that they were asleep when news was being covered. “Once officers made contact with the owner and received a description of the second stolen vehicle, they began pursuit” makes perfect sense. How much of a brain do you need to understand that lucid, simple, phrase? How in the world does the offender’s gender even matter in this case? How many teenage girls do you know who are going off on a high speed chase? How many girls period have you heard of stealing cars and taking off. Either way, does it matter?
That’s OK Cat, I’ve been called much worse. However, “Once officers made contact with the owner and received a description of the second stolen vehicle, they began pursuit” does not make any sense. Unless they just happened to be following the second stolen vehicle when the description was broadcast. You can’t pursue, until you have located it. You can “look” for it, you can “search” for it, but until you find it, you have nothing to pursue.
Also, Cat, you just might be surprised at what some girls will do. They are not all little angels.
As to does it matter? Well, obviously it doesn’t matter at all to you.
Arrowhead elementary was also on lockdown and the letter I received via email said the children were put in a quiet place in the classroom for approximately 10 minutes, then were able to resume as normal, but could not leave the classroom, this lasted another five minutes. The email said to talk with our children tonight about the incident, so I don’t know about Sunset elementary, but students at Arrowhead elementary definitely knew what was going on.
pur·suit
pərˈso͞ot/Submit
noun
1.
the action of following or pursuing someone or something.
“the cat crouched in the grass in pursuit of a bird”
synonyms: striving toward, quest after/for, search for; aim, goal, objective, dream
“the pursuit of profit”
I think the writer meant “pursuit” as in “the quest after/for”. I’m surprised that it means so much to spend your time insulting others. This is honestly what’s wrong with this this world. We tear each other down, instead of building them up. I’m sure the writer did the best he could do with the given information.
“The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.”
Think big anyway.