This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A 44-year-old Utah man has been sentenced to prison for ramming a police cruiser on Feb. 13 in Salt Lake County, and nearly striking an officer as he sped through tire spikes to escape.
Christopher John McMillan — who had been on the run after cutting off his court-ordered ankle monitor — was arrested three days later at a Salt Lake City fast food restaurant.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound fugitive had been spotted by police, despite that he was wearing a long, black-haired woman's wig on his shaved head and also had shaved off his "soul patch" facial hair.
McMillan, 44, was charged in 3rd District Court with first-degree felony attempted aggravated murder, third-degree felony failure to stop at the command of an officer, and class B misdemeanor reckless driving charges.
He pleaded guilty to a reduced second-degree felony count of assault on a police officer, as well as the failure to stop count.
On Friday, he was sentenced to prison for up to 15 years. Judge Katie Bernards-Goodman ordered the term to run consecutively with a zero-to-five-year sentence for a theft by receiving conviction.
The judge ordered the sentence to run concurrently with an aggravated assault conviction, stemming from an East Millcreek domestic dispute in October 2015, where McMillan fired several gunshots, one of which hit his brother in the foot.
McMillan, who was charged with burglary and theft in last October's $140,000 Alaskan Fur Gallery heist in Park City, had been give pre-trial release in December 2015. In connection with yet another case, he was required to wear the ankle monitor.
After cutting off the ankle monitor, McMillan was spotted on Feb. 13, getting into a car with two women in West Valley City. When he realized police were following him, he allegedly pushed the women out of the vehicle in neighboring Magna and sped away.
Officers say they successfully spiked McMillan's tires, but he drove on, swerving toward one officer, who escaped injury by taking shelter behind a squad car. Soon after, McMillan rammed a Unified Police cruiser, causing minor injuries to the officer driving that unit.
Despite the tire damage, the chase resumed at speeds of more than 100 mph, which was finally called off due to public-safety concerns.
Then, on Feb. 16, officers spotted McMillan in an SUV in Millcreek. When he pulled into an Arby's restaurant at 1700 South and State Street, officers moved in, guns drawn, and arrested him.
McMillan has a long felony criminal history stretching back to 1993, ranging from numerous drug-related and firearms possession by a restricted person offenses, to theft and burglary.
Utah Department of Corrections records show that before the latest alleged crimes, McMillan had been on probation since being released from prison July 6, 2015.