Man accused of killing Utah officer in I-15 crash previously struck Oregon officer with car

The man accused of plowing into and killing a Santaquin police officer with a semitruck early Sunday has a lengthy criminal history, including a 2009 assault conviction after he nearly killed an Oregon officer with a vehicle.

The man, a 42-year-old California native, has faced a slew of charges dating back to at least 2001, according to public court records. In addition to past allegations of assault on law enforcement, he has also been accused of stealing vehicles and fleeing authorities — similar to the fatal Sunday crash, manhunt and subsequent police pursuit in Utah that ended in his arrest.

As of Monday afternoon, the man had not been formally charged in connection with the Sunday morning crash on Interstate 15 near Santaquin that left Santaquin police Sgt. Bill Hooser dead, court records indicate. The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not name defendants unless they have been charged with a crime.

In 2001, the same man was convicted of resisting a police officer in California. In that case, court records show, a truck stop cashier called police to report that the man had shoplifted. When deputies arrived, they struggled with the man.

A deputy later testified in court that the man had tried to drive away as the deputy worked to remove him from the vehicle. The deputy recalled being pinned in the car and “pulled along” as the man’s vehicle, a Chevrolet Blazer, lunged forward, according to a court transcript.

“If the young man happened to get the Blazer into gear, [a truck stop employee] would be dead, as the Blazer was pointed right towards the front door where [the employee] was standing,” a witness told investigators, according to court documents.

In 2009, the man pleaded guilty to assault and possession of body armor after prosecutors said he attempted to run over an officer in Klamath County, Oregon, court records show. A felony count of attempted murder was dismissed, and he was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

A year after his sentencing, he was charged with threatening a corrections officer in California, The Great Bend Tribune in Kansas reported in 2012, when the man was reportedly on the run in the state.

The newspaper article at the time advised the man was “willing to enter into high speed chases and cause accidents to avoid capture, as well as willing to invade homes,” citing the Barton County Sheriff’s Office. “He has threatened to take lethal measures to avoid being taken back into custody.”

Federal court records show that a U.S. Marshals task force arrested the man in Texas in 2012. He was wanted for violating parole in Oregon and authorities found him in illegal possession of guns and ammunition.

While incarcerated, the man filed multiple handwritten complaints both questioning his detention and alleging that his civil rights were being violated, court records show.

The fatal crash in Utah early Sunday came after a person reported someone standing on the back of a semitrailer as it traveled north on Interstate 15, police said.

When Hooser and a Utah Highway Patrol trooper tried to stop the semitruck near Santaquin at about 6:30 a.m., the driver continued on, traveling farther north a short distance before turning around and heading the wrong way back toward Hooser and the trooper, police said.

The semitruck hit both Hooser’s and the trooper’s vehicle. The trooper was not injured, but Hooser died at the scene. It is unclear if anyone was ever on the back of the semitrailer as originally reported.

After the crash, the driver ran away from scene before stealing multiple vehicles, eventually making it to Vernal, about 175 miles east of the stop.

There, he led law enforcement on a chase at “extremely high speeds” and ultimately crashed, authorities said Monday. He was hospitalized and so far has not appeared in any local jail rosters. As of Monday afternoon, no probable cause statements or other court filings — including charging documents — were available online.

Law enforcement in Utah on Monday led a procession from the state medical examiner’s office in Taylorsville south to Santaquin, bringing the fallen officer’s body to a local mortuary. Law enforcement and others lined the roadway to show their support.

The Santaquin Police Department is relatively small, with just 15 officers, according to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who gave his condolences to the family of the fallen officer on Sunday.

“Our entire department is hurt, and the family of the officer is hurt because of a senseless act by one individual,” Santaquin police Lt. Mike Wall said at an emotional Sunday emotional news conference. A colleague put his arm around Wall as he spoke.

“We have family members who will miss their father at their nearing wedding, but I can assure you that we as a police department will stand up and will be there, and we are one family,” Wall said.