Font ResizeWest Valley City police nabbed a man early Saturday accused of fleeing from police as many as a dozen times.
Officers searching for stolen vehicles in an unmarked car spotted the wanted 36-year-old Elam Malachai Myers of South Salt Lake City near 5000 South and 4000 West just after midnight, said West Valley City police Lt. Bill Merritt.
Myers was riding a motorcycle known as a bullet bike, and when officers tried to pull him over, he fled, Merritt said. He is a suspect in a recent home-invasion robbery in Taylorsville and has several warrants out for his arrest for fleeing from police.
"He's on a bullet bike, and when he's stopped he just takes off and there's no catching him," Merritt said. The motorcycles can travel up to 175 mph, and are highly maneuverable, he said.
But this time, the officers were prepared.
They had already asked for a Department of Public safety helicopter for help with the stolen car investigation. When Myers took off again from a second uniformed officer near 4700 South and Bangerter Highway, police backed off and let the helicopter chase him from above as he drove from Highland Drive to downtown Salt Lake City. They caught Myers about an hour later when he hit a car near 2100 South and 500 East.
Myers was not seriously injured.
Court records show Myers pleaded guilty in 2006 in 3rd District Court to third-degree felony attempted theft by receiving stolen property. He was sentenced
After a medical examination, Myers was taken directly to the Utah State Prison for violating his parole, Merritt said.
