Infrared Captures Bad Guy

[qlajlu]

KUTV News Video

SL Tribune Story

Last night (Thursday 9/13/2007) around 9:00 o'clock the SL Regional TG (17760) lit up and the chase was on. I even got an e-mail from bneilson to let me know things were happening (Thanks, Brett).

After a robbery, carjacking, high-speed chase, crash, and search by every canine officer in the valley, the bad guy was located using infrared from Utah's DPS helicopter (Call sign was Star 7). The infrared scanners aboard the aircraft detected his body heat as he was attempting to conceal himself.

WVC police say robbery, wild chase ends in arrest of career criminal

The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 09/14/2007 06:49:16 AM MDT

WEST VALLEY CITY -- West Valley City police say they have taken a dangerous career criminal into custody after a robbery, carjacking and high-speed chase last night.

Sgt. Bill Merritt told KUTV the alleged suspect, Robert Douglas Priest, "has a rap sheet as long as my arm," including homicide.

The incident began with the robbery of a Quiznos sandwich shop late Thursday. The knife-wielding robber then allegedly stole a car and a high-speed chase ensued when the vehicle was spotted by police.

KUTV says police dogs and a UHP helicopter were called in to help search for the suspect after the stolen auto rolled on Bangerter Highway and the suspect fled on foot.

Police say it was the chopper that proved most effective, with Priest's body heat giving him away to the aircraft's infrared scanners. He was located about a quarter-mile from the crash scene.

Merritt says a second person from the vehicle was being questioned as well.

 

[LGLHOOK]

I listened to this chase from the start, nothin like a good old 10-80 to get the blood pumping. Alert West Valley officers in the area of the robbery spotted this guy as he car jacked the car from 3100 so. Redwood Rd. and the chase was on. Great interagency K9 cordination. The only down fall is when the Sandy K9 found this puke, he did not let his dog bite him ;(

 

[Rolfman]

Well for the dogs sake that is good. The dog might have cought something from the idiot!

 

[LGLHOOK]

Just a little follow up to this story, I was riding with one of my K9 buddies last night from West Valley and we were talking about this. The helo was not the one who actually found this guy. The heat source that the aircraft's infrared scanner was picking up was actually confirmed to be a 125 lb. mountain lion. Right after the helo picked up the heat source and K9 teams were enroute to that location is when the County runner who was tracking with the Sandy dog actually found this guy in a different location from where the helo was searching. Sandy's dog ran right past this guy and is was good old fashion man power that found the suspect hiding up against a fence in some weeds. It always helps to have inside friends who know the factual information insted of the media educated guess work

 

[qlajlu]

The heat source that the aircraft's infrared scanner was picking up was actually confirmed to be a 125 lb. mountain lion.

WOW! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

There was not a word about that that I heard on the scanner. Wow! A lion right in town like that? Not that it couldn't happen and there are not a lot of people right there, but still that is amazing.

What happened to the big cat?

 

[LGLHOOK]

About 1/2 hour after the capture I caught the radio traffic about this on West Valley main channel. She asked the officers if they were still out in the area on foot. She advised them that UHP had called and said they had a mountain lion in a gully at that location. She said UHP was paging out Wildlife.