This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A brief armed standoff in Cottonwood Heights ended peacefully after an ex-con decided it was better to surrender peacefully than face the not-so-tender ministrations of a police dog.
Cottonwood Heights police Sgt. Corbett Ford said an officer responding to a credit card fraud complaint at 1310 E. Park Centre Dr. about 8 p.m. Tuesday saw the male suspect flee and put out his description over the radio. Moments later, other CHPD officers spotted the man, along with a female, entering the Santa Fe Apartment Complex, 1550 Fort Union Blvd.
The pair ran when confronted by police. The female, who reportedly was pregnant, was quickly captured, but the suspect ran inside his apartment and barricaded himself inside a bedroom.
"Our officers, one of whom had spotted a handgun [on the suspect], were right on his heels," Ford said Wednesday.
Joined by the police dog, the officers secured the apartment and began to negotiate with the suspect. About 15-20 minutes later, he surrendered.
Ford said that after the arrest, the suspect said he initially had planned to shoot the dog if sent to attack him.
After the arrest, officers obtained a search warrant and recovered not only the handgun, but stolen credit cards and identities and a small amount of methamphetamine, Corbett said.
The suspect, a 33-year-old Oregon man, also was recognized from security video as wanted in the recent theft of a motorcycle from a Target store in the area. During questioning, he admitted to that crime, too, Corbett said.
The suspect was booked into the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of third-degree felony possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, as well as number credit card and identity fraud and drug and providing false information counts. He remained behind bars Wednesday in lieu of nearly $16,600 bail.
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