In West Valley City Monday morning, a man was arrested for stealing a car, and leading police on a chase.
The suspect’s name is not released as of yet. According to investigators, the man was in the stolen vehicle when the police began to pursue him near 4700 S and 4500 E. He fled from officers following.
He drove through neighborhoods, getting up to 45 mph, before driving the car that had been stolen onto a field, and continued to flee on foot.
The whole chase only lasted about 4 minutes, as West Valley Police Officers set up a containment, caught, and arrested the man very quickly.
Sgt. Jeff Konger thought that the man probably lived close by the area. He said, “He was probably going to walk home if we didn’t find him.”
There are no other warrants out for his arrest. He is currently in custody of the police until further action form the state is taken.
Grand theft auto, or motor vehicle theft is a common problem all over the world. But luckily the numbers are declining–in 2005 there were an estimated 1.2 million car thefts, and property losses due to grand theft auto were around $7.6 billion. The most recent statistic shows only 794,616 thefts in a year.
A small cautionary measure you can take to prevent your own car from being stolen might include installing a car alarm triggered if there is an attempted breaking and entry. Even installing a sign on windows that advertises a security system might be enough of a deterrent to a potential thief.
From Christensen & Hymas, we hope you keep you and your vehicles safe this season!
Image courtesy of ksl news