ST. GEORGE — A man who police say refused to comply with officers’ commands following a traffic stop in Hurricane was arrested Monday.

According to a probable cause statement written in support of the warrantless arrest, Uriah Suhr, 37, was driving along 3700 West before 6 a.m. Monday when Hurricane Police officer Eric DeMille noticed the vehicle was moving 10-15 mph slower than the posted speed limit while traveling in the inside lane. When the vehicle crossed the solid white center line, DeMille activated his emergency lights to signal the driver to pull the car over, which he did at approximately 200 North and 3400 West.

Suhr initially provided a false name and date of birth, DeMille wrote in the probable cause statement.

“I told him there was no name and DOB matching,” the statement said. “He then put the car in gear. I pulled the passenger door open and he drove off at a high rate of speed.”

DeMille said he notified dispatch the vehicle was heading north on 3400 West. It eventually turned into a neighborhood near 600 North, where it was met by another officer’s patrol vehicle.

The fleeing suspect’s vehicle then drove off the road, hitting rocks and bushes and driving through a barbed wire fence before crashing into some rocks, causing the airbags to deploy, according to the statement.

“The male then exited the vehicle and began to run,” the statement continued. “Officers ran after the male and were able to catch up to him.”

Suhr, who was reportedly armed with multiple knives, continued to be noncompliant, according to police.

“As I got close to the male, I observed a large knife on his side,” DeMille wrote. “With my handgun out, I ordered the male to the ground. He was down on his knees, but would not lay down. After the male was told several times to lay down, he did not comply. I used my foot to push the male onto his stomach. An assisting officer knelt on his back and began trying to put the male into handcuffs.”

After some further struggle, the arresting officers were able to handcuff Suhr, who reportedly had two fixed blade knives and one folding knife on his person. In addition, police said they found another knife found on the ground in between the vehicle and the place where he was eventually subdued.

In a subsequent search of his vehicle, police found methamphetamine, heroin, hydrocodone, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Later Monday, Suhr was booked into Washington County’s Purgatory Correctional Facility, where he faces more than a dozen charges, including felony evading and obstruction of justice, along with possession of a weapon by a restricted person, in addition to misdemeanor counts of reckless driving, driving on a suspended license, providing false information to police, interfering with an arrest, and possession of drugs and paraphernalia.

Suhr reportedly also had multiple outstanding warrants related to a drug-related arrest earlier this year. He’s being held in custody at the jail in lieu of bail totaling nearly $37,000.

Utah court records indicate Suhr’s criminal history includes various drug, theft, forgery and weapons charges, dating as far back as 2006. He pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony weapons offense in Iron County in April 2008, after which he pleaded guilty to a second-degree felony theft charge in Washington County in June 2008.

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

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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