Top Stories Salt Lake City

SALT LAKE CITY — Two Salt Lake County Sheriff’s deputies were dragged by a vehicle when a man tried to flee after being pulled over early Monday, leading to a long chase and search that eventually lead to the man’s arrest.

A sheriff’s deputy pulled over a suspicious vehicle near 2750 South 800 East just before 1 a.m. The driver gave the deputy a false name. But when the deputy pulled up a mug shot of the actual registered owner of the vehicle, it was the man sitting in the driver’s seat, said sheriff’s Lt. Don Hutson.

The deputy called for backup, and two deputies re-approached the vehicle, one on each side of the car.

Deputies asked the man to get out of the car, but he refused. The deputies also noticed the man had his car in drive, Hutson said. Fearing he may take off, the deputies opened both the driver’s and passenger side doors.

The driver did take his foot off the brake, just as the two deputies were trying to reach inside to get his keys. Both men hung onto the open doors and were drug 50 to 75 yards while the car moved at an estimated 15 mph, before dropping off and sliding to a stop in the snow, Hutson said.

Both deputies suffered scratches but were not injured.

A chase involving multiple agencies followed. The chase went from I-15 to I-80 to 1300 East to 6400 South Van Winkle before being called off due to weather conditions, Hutson said. The fleeing man was able to avoid tire spikes five times, he said.

The Metro Gang Unit was called to follow up on the address listed on the car’s registration. That lead investigators to a house near 2500 South Highland Drive that had been condemned by the health department, Hutson said.

The car was parked in the driveway of the house and there were footprints in the snow leading up to the door. After two searches of the home using K9s, the man was found hiding in a bathtub, he said.

Kolton World, 23, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of two counts of aggravated assault, fleeing, theft and giving false information to a police officer.

A check of Utah State Court records shows World pled guilty in August to theft, drug possession and theft in 2007, and attempted burglary and drug possession in 2006.

e-mail: preavy@desnews.com