ST. GEORGE — A St. George man was arrested for aggravated assault and several other offenses after he allegedly pulled a knife during an altercation at a LaVerkin residence and then fled the scene.
Just after 2 p.m. Thursday an officer responded to a disturbance at a residence in the area of West 625 North in LaVerkin. An altercation began in the front yard where a man, who was later identified as Charles David Myers, allegedly pulled a knife and started threatening the resident, LaVerkin Police officer Amber Crouse said.
“A neighbor called in when she heard the commotion in the front yard,” Crouse said, who first began searching for the suspect. Once she received reports of Myers running through yards and jumping fences trying to avoid being caught by police, backup was called in to assist with the search.
A Washington County deputy was dispatched and a short time later Myers was found hiding in a field nearby. Just as the officers approached him, the man jumped up and started running, with officers close behind.
The Washington County deputy who was in pursuit deployed his Taser as he closed the distance between himself and Myers, hitting the fleeing man in the elbow. However, that didn’t stop Myers as he continued running in spite of the probe that remained stuck in his arm, Crouse said.
Additional officers and deputies joined the pursuit that was now advancing over numerous fences and through several backyards. At one point the man was seen exiting a residence through the back sliding door, which was also witnessed by Scott Smith, a retired UHP trooper out of Ogden who is now living in the area.
“I first noticed the guy riding quickly on a BMX bicycle,” Smith said, “and during the commotion I saw him running out of a neighbor’s back sliding door, and told one of the officers the direction he was heading.”
The foot pursuit eventually involved eight officers from four different agencies. The pursuit continued for several more minutes until deputies caught up with the man and took him into custody, Crouse said. Paramedics were called in and removed the probe before clearing Myers for transport.
“The pursuit, from the first call to arrest, took 54 minutes,” she said.
After talking to several witnesses officers believe the altercation started over the bicycle, and somehow the argument escalated to the point when, according to the victim, Myers pulled a knife and started threatening him. Myers denied this, however, an officer found two knives in the man’s possession while conducting a search right after the arrest, Crouse said.
“The disorderly charge that Myers is facing stems from the fact that a backyard he ran through was full of children who were fearful and upset by the commotion,” she said, “and the fact that we were receiving messages from local businesses asking if it was safe to go outside.”
Myers was medically cleared and then transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked on numerous offenses including aggravated assault, providing false information to a police officer, disorderly/disobeying a lawful order, knowingly trespassing, trespass of a dwelling, and failing to stop at an officer’s command.
“It’s just good that no one was injured,” Crouse said, “particularly with so many officers on the pursuit that occurred in the middle of the day.”
LaVerkin police officers were assisted by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Adult Probation and Parole and the Bureau of Land Management.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or first 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.
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I see these stories on the tv show cops…and realize why they make officers go to the gym and keep in shape.. Fences get higher as we get older..