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Man accused of shooting at police on Utah County freeway had been on meth, charges say

(Photo courtesy Utah County Sheriff's Office) Arturo Ray Gallemore-Jimenez

A man had reportedly used meth just before shooting at police officers while driving on Interstate 15 in Utah County.

Arturo Ray Gallemore-Jimenez, 37, was charged in 4th District Court on Friday with three counts of attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony. He also was charged with failure to stop at the command of police, and with use of a firearm by restricted person, both third-degree felonies; theft, a second-degree felony; two counts of possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor; and driving on a revoked license, a class C misdemeanor.

Gallemore-Jimenez also has been accused of shooting a man in Aurora, Colo. The Dec. 19 shooting is being investigated by the Aurora Police Department, and charges have not yet been filed, nor has an arrest warrant been issued. The victim is expected to live, according to Aurora Officer Ken Forrest.

According to court documents filed in Utah, Gallemore-Jimenez had let the Colorado man borrow his pickup truck, which Utah County police later determined had been stolen in Kansas. When the Colorado man kept the truck, Gallemore-Jimenez allegedly shot his back three or four times. Then, charges state, he drove to a gas station in Nephi, where he shot out a window of the pickup after locking his keys inside the truck.

In an interview after his arrest, he told the Utah County Sheriff’s Office that after he shot the window, he used methamphetamine and had more of the drug in his truck, according to charges.

He shot at police officers when a Utah County deputy pulled him over on I-15, court documents state. Deputies shot back and flattened two of his tires. As he led police on a slow northbound chase on the freeway, he and police continued to exchange gunfire.

He hasn’t been charged over bullets that struck two passing vehicles because investigators don’t know whose gun the bullets came from, according to Deputy Utah County Attorney Ryan McBride.

The chase stopped when Gallemore-Jimenez crashed at the University Parkway exit in Orem. He was wearing a ballistic vest, police said, and had been shot in the neck and arm, charges state.

Police also found a throwing knife in his wallet and knives on his ankle, according to court documents. Police found a shotgun, a revolver, methamphetamine and marijuana in the truck. He also had two driver licenses with him — one a suspended Utah license and one a current Kansas license.

He was taken to Utah Valley Hospital and after two days was released into police custody.

In an interview with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office after his arrest, Gallemore-Jimenez said he had made a mental list of 13 people he intended to kill. He didn’t say who was on the list, or whether they live in Utah, according to McBride.

Gallemore-Jimenez also said that he was prepared to shoot officers to avoid going to jail and that he believed “God would have put that police officer in [his] path to kill him,” according to charges.

He also told police that he was prepared to die and had planned to “find a cove and escape using his shotgun and body armor,” charging documents state.

Gallemore-Jimenez was booked into the Salt Lake County jail on Saturday and is being held in lieu of $1 million cash-only bail.

His criminal record also includes convictions in Kansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Missouri, and arrests in South Dakota and Colorado, according to court documents.

On social media, charging documents state, he had posted photos of revolvers and gang affiliations. He also wrote that he would “send souls to heaven” if any “pigs, Gs or anyone else” got in his way.