A man was arrested in Logan Canyon early Thursday morning after authorities say he evaded police for hours and had a standoff with SWAT.
Around 9 p.m. Wednesday, according to a news release from the Utah Department of Public Safety, a driver was reported to law enforcement on U.S. Highway 89/91 near Wellsville. The driver — in a gray Mercedes van with Nevada plates — was flashing their lights behind the complainant and driving erratically, troopers wrote.
The northbound driver was located by troopers in Smithfield. A traffic stop was attempted, according to the release, but the driver failed to yield, made a U-turn near Richmond and headed back toward the Logan area. Troopers wrote the driver ran multiple red lights and continued driving erratically.
After losing sight of the vehicle for a time, a citizen spotted the driver near Logan Canyon. Troopers caught up with the vehicle near the UDOT sheds around the summit while Rich County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded near the county line with a spike strip.
Though the spikes successfully flattened the driver’s tires, troopers wrote, he still tried to evade officers. A trooper performed a pursuit intervention technique near mile post 494 and the van then coasted off the road.
According to UHP Sgt. Cade Brenchley, the driver then refused to exit the van; Cache County SWAT and a DPS helicopter were called to the scene. Brenchley said the SWAT team shot a van window with bean bag rounds and lobbed gases, pepper balls and other devices into the vehicle. In an affidavit filed with the 1st District Court, an MRAP (mine resistant ambush protected) vehicle was also deployed from the Preston Police Department.
“He wouldn’t come out,” Brenchley said, explaining the officers’ response was due to concern that the driver was armed.
But, eventually, the driver complied, exited the van and was taken into custody. Petr Litvinko, 31, was booked into the Cache County Jail on suspicion of third-degree felony failure to stop or respond at command of law enforcement and other misdemeanors. He is currently being held on a no-bail status.
Litvinko had minor scrapes from the incident, according to Brenchley, but no major injuries were reported. The affidavit states Litvinko was taken to a local hospital for evaluation prior to his jail booking.
Brenchley said Litvinko declined to speak with officers and requested a lawyer.
“He’s not talking,” Brenchley said.
According to Brenchley, no alcohol was involved in the incident but Litvinko’s impairment was still under investigation.
“Petr seemed to be under the influence of possibly drugs causing him to be sleepy, lethargic, and making strange statements that did not make sense,” troopers wrote in the affidavit.
Clothes, food and other common items were located in the van but no weapons were found, Brenchley said.
Litvinko had purchased a plot of land in Garden City, according to Brenchley, and also had an arrest warrant for a DUI out of Florida. Troopers wrote in the affidavit that Litvinko has addresses in the Sunshine State and Washington as well as a history of fleeing from police.
The affidavit states Litvinko evaded troopers in Salt Lake City earlier on Wednesday. According to Brenchley, the trooper involved saw a gray Mercedes van driving recklessly but terminated the pursuit as the driver was headed into heavy traffic. Brenchley said though the trooper didn’t get a look at the driver or the van’s plates, they are “99% sure” it was Litvinko.
Brenchley encouraged drivers to call law enforcement and report incidents that seem strange on the road — even if it might turn out to be nothing.
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