5 in custody following traffic stop, manhunt in Cedar City

Law enforcement personnel at the KB Express parking lot near the intersection of Fiddler's Canyon Road and Main Street, Cedar City, Utah, March 29, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — An attempted traffic stop in the northern part of Cedar City early Tuesday morning turned into a two-hour manhunt for two suspects who fled the scene on foot, authorities said. 

By 7:30 a.m., all five people who had been inside the vehicle had been located and taken into custody, Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Randy Riches told Cedar City News.

Riches said the incident began at approximately 5:20 a.m. when a UHP trooper attempted to pull over a northbound SUV for speeding on Interstate 15.

“As he caught up to the vehicle, it was taking the Exit 62 northbound off-ramp into the north side of Cedar City,” Riches said, adding that the vehicle then pulled into the parking lot of the Love’s truck stop.

“As he activated his lights, the vehicle then went around the parking lot, jumped the curb on the east side of the parking lot and took off from him,” Riches added. “He did not pursue at that point, but he did relay that information to other law enforcement officers.”

A short time later, the SUV was located in the parking lot of the KB Express convenience store located at 1944 N. Main Street, Riches said, adding that nobody was still inside the vehicle.

As officers began searching the area, they soon found three of the occupants hiding inside the store’s bathrooms, Riches said.

Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies then joined in the search to locate the remaining two suspects, who were last seen on foot in the Fiddler’s Canyon area.

“After an extensive search, the two outstanding individuals were located and in custody roughly two hours after the initial incident,” Riches added.

Law enforcement personnel at the KB Express parking lot near the intersection of Fiddler’s Canyon Road and Main Street, Cedar City, Utah, March 29, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

A firearm allegedly belonging to one of the individuals was also located in a nearby field, Riches said.

All five occupants of the car – three men and two women – have been taken into custody, although none had been officially booked into Iron County Jail as of noon Tuesday. All are from out of state, according to UHP.

“It’s a pretty extensive investigation, trying to figure out what all is involved,” Riches said. “It obviously stems from much more than just the initial traffic stuff and fleeing. We believe there’s other crimes that are going on and we’re investigating those right now.”

As investigators are working to piece together information, none of the suspects has been officially booked into jail, Riches told Cedar City News shortly before noon.

“The extensive list of charges hasn’t been determined at this time,” he added. “That should be coming in the next several hours.”

In addition to multiple Utah Highway Patrol troopers, law enforcement officers from various other agencies responded to the incident, including Cedar City Police, Enoch City Police, Southern Utah University Police and Iron County Sheriff’s Office, which deployed its helicopter to assist in the search.

Riches thanked all those who were involved in the interagency efforts to assist with the search efforts and help secure the area.

According to Iron County Jail records, the five individuals reportedly involved in the incident were each booked into jail later Tuesday. They are identified in booking records as James Wells, Zachary Pearson, Daniel Craver, Shelby Ross and Andrea Mitchell.

According to probable cause statements filed in support of their arrests, Wells, who was the driver of the vehicle, and Pearson were the two who allegedly fled the scene on foot.

The affidavit further states that large amounts of drugs were found inside the vehicle, including several packages of suspected fentanyl and methamphetamine, in addition to counterfeit money, a printer and a laptop. The gun, reported to be a stolen Sig Sauer 9 mm pistol, was located inside one of the two backpacks that had apparently been abandoned by the suspects as they fled the area on foot.

Wells, 30, faces multiple charges in connection with the incident, including two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, plus counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm by a restricted person, possession of forged documents, reckless driving, failure to stop at command of police and driving without a valid license.

Pearson, who turns 27 on Thursday, faces a similar list of charges as Wells, excluding the driving-related violations.

Meanwhile, Craver faces two counts of drug possession with intent to distribute, in addition to other drug-related charges and forgery. Mitchell and Ross are each facing misdemeanor counts of possession of drugs and paraphernalia.

This report is based on statements from court documents and law enforcement officials 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.

Updated March 30, 9:30 a.m., to include the names of the suspects and a summary of the charges they face.

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

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