Recent incidents reported by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office include frauds committed on citizens; a high-speed vehicle pursuit in the South Summit area; and a rash of burglaries reported in the Snyderville Basin.
The Sheriff’s Office reported they heard from a 22-year-old Oakley resident who said he was the victim of extortion. He said that on Feb. 9, he began communicating with a person he thought was a female on the messaging app Kik.
The suspect persuaded the complainant to send out nude photos of himself, then threatened to post them online. The man was forced to send money via an app and also was directed to buy gift cards and supply the numbers to the suspect. In all, he paid about $800.
A deputy was not able to track down the suspect through a phone number.
In another case of fraud, a 50-year-old woman in the Pinebrook area reported on Feb. 18 that she was phoned by a suspect claiming to be an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The person, using a phone number out of Texas, said there was a warrant for her arrest. The victim didn’t make a payment, but did disclose her Social Security number and the name of her bank. She was advised to contact her bank and was referred to the state identity-theft website.
Sheriff’s Lt. Andrew Wright reported that on Thursday, Feb. 25, a suspect was pursued across the Kamas Valley and was ultimately captured hiding out—in the town of Hideout.
He said that officers tried to serve 36-year-old Jarred L. Pacheco, who was wanted on several charges, including theft in Summit County, and several other warrants from his hometown area around Price, on items like escaping from official custody and criminal mischief.
A pursuit began at the Kamas 7-Eleven, traversed several streets in town, and ultimately wound up on State Route 248. County deputies, Kamas police and Utah Highway Patrol troopers pursued him at speeds of over 110 MPH.
Officers were able to spike his vehicle, and Pacheco crashed into another car at the Jordanelle view area. He fled on foot and was arrested in the Hideout subdivision, where he was trying to steal another vehicle.
Lt. Wright said the vehicle he drove in the pursuit was reported stolen on Feb. 1 out of Aurora, Colorado.
A less-dramatic pursuit was reported on the night of Feb. 14. A deputy reported trying to stop a vehicle on State Route 224, but the driver did not yield to the officer’s emergency lights, and then, to a siren.
Ultimately, a Park City officer was able to get in front of the vehicle, which was stopped north of Kearns Boulevard.
The driver, a 21-year-old woman, said she was from the Philippines and didn’t understand laws in Utah, or the signals that the officers had given.
The vehicle was impounded and the driver was cited for no insurance and no license. But the driver and a passenger were released.
Finally, on March 1, deputies got six reports of vehicle burglaries occurring the previous night.
In all cases, the vehicles were unlocked. The reports came mostly from the Canyons area, but also some other neighborhoods near State Route 224. The reports included the theft of a purse and credit cards, a vehicle damaged when someone tried to remove the stereo, and other cases of thousands of dollars in property stolen.
