Thanks for a great partner! - Shawn Petersen - Iron Co. S.O., UT

Two men were arrested Thursday morning following a high-speed chase on Interstate 15 that started in Parowan and ended south of Cedar City near the Hamilton Fort exit.

Anthony Morris, 20, of Chicago, was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony, fugitive from justice and evading a police officer, third-degree felonies, and misdemeanor leaving an accident with property damage, reckless driving and speeding.

     Anthony Morris

 

Edwin Johnson, of Salt Lake City, was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, leaving an accident with property damage, resisting arrest and causing injury to a police animal.

Johnson's jail booking information was unavailable Thursday night. No bail information was listed in Morris' online booking sheet.

Iron County Sheriff's Office Lt. Del Schlosser said Morris may face another charge for allegedly attempting to break into a business.

The chase began near near milepost 75 when a Parowan Police officer allegedly clocked the suspects on the freeway at speeds exceeding 100 mph, said Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Todd Royce.

The chase continued on the freeway until a UHP trooper spiked the tires of the 2011 GMC Acadia just south of Cedar City where it crashed into a freeway sign near the Hamilton Fort exit, Schlosser said.

ICSO Deputy Shawn Peterson and his K-9, Bolos, were dispatched to assist and joined the chase as it was passing through Cedar City.

“Peterson was there in less than five minutes,” Schlosser said. “That is a great response time since he was coming from his house.”

After crashing the vehicle, the suspects allegedly ran from officers, jumped two fences and removed clothing in an attempt to avoid detection by the dog.

“Bolos was able to track Johnson to some discarded clothing and then further to a place he was lying in the sagebrush,” Schlosser said. “After several attempts to get the suspect to surrender Bolos was sent in to retrieve him.”

Johnson had to be treated for bite wounds after fighting with the dog — he was charged with animal abuse after “punching the dog several times.”

Morris was found hitchhiking on the freeway and taken into custody without further incident, Schlosser said.

Parowan Police Chief Ken Carpenter could not be reached for comment about the incident.

Credit - (Article) Haven Scott - The Spectrum