This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Police have located the abandoned car of the fugitive involved in an officer-involved shooting on Saturday, but they still haven't found suspect John Jesse Samora.
The shooting occurred at 2:48 a.m. on Saturday when Unified Police Department officers spotted a 1990 Lincoln Town Car in the area of 5400 S. 4015 West. The vehicle was known to be driven by Samora. The driver, who matched Samora's description, tried to evade the officers by pulling into a parking lot near 4100 W. 5400 South.
When Samora pulled into a parking spot, the officers approached the car on foot, officials say. Samora allegedly drove from the spot and tried to hit the officers with his car. One of the officers fired a single shot as the car came toward him, but Samora was able to leave the parking lot.
He was later spotted by Taylorsville police officers near 5400 S. 4015 West. They tried to stop the car, but Samora led them on a high-speed chase north on Bangerter Highway to State Road 201.
After heading east on SR-201, he exited on Redwood Road, and once the chase reached Salt Lake City, it was called off for public safety reasons. Samora was allegedly going through red lights at 70 mph.
About 8 p.m. on Saturday, Salt Lake City police officers found Samora's car abandoned at 853 N. 900 West. UPD detectives have seized the car as evidence. They are asking anyone with information as to Samora's location to call UPD at 801-743-7000.
Twitter: @jm_miller