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Witness: Suspect in I-15 shootings locked himself out of truck, shot window to get back in

Posted at 4:22 PM, Dec 21, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-21 21:09:02-05

UTAH COUNTY, Utah — The Utah County Sheriff’s Office has released new details about an officer-involved shooting and chase on I-15 in Utah County Wednesday night.

The Sheriff’s Office has identified the suspect as 37-year-old Arturo Ray Gallemore-Jimenez.

Gallemore-Jimenez is accused of exchanging gunfire with deputies and officers during a chase that began in Nephi and ended in Orem. On Thursday night, the Sheriff’s Office revealed Gallemore-Jimenez was also wanted in connection with a recent shooting in Aurora, Colorado.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, a witness told Nephi Police that Gallemore-Jimenez had locked himself out of a pickup truck at a truck stop, then shot out one of the truck’s windows to get inside.

Deputies with the Sheriff’s Office and other officers spotted the truck near mile marker 260 and attempted to make a traffic stop.

A statement from the Sheriff’s Office said Gallemore-Jimenez shot at deputies and officers, then drove away and continued north on I-15.

“Two tires on the pickup were flat and the suspect was only driving about 30 MPH. Police Officers, UHP Troopers, and Deputies closed off all the north bound I-15 off ramps and on ramps to keep other motorists away from the danger posed by Gallemore-Jimenez,” the statement said.

The pickup truck then crashed into a fence at the east side of the freeway near the University Parkway exit in Orem, about nine miles north of the area where the initial traffic stop occurred.

“There was another exchange of gunfire and a short time later Deputies and Officers took Gallemore-Jimenez into custody,” the statement said.

A 21-year-old Provo man suffered a gunshot wound in his right shoulder and Gallemore-Jimenez suffered gunshot wounds in his right arm and the right side of his neck. Both were taken to Utah Valley Hospital for treatment. None of the injuries are believed to be life-threatening.

“During the confrontation and exchange of gunfire a passing vehicle was struck by gunfire which narrowly missed a man and his four year old son,” the statement said.

Investigators said Gallemore-Jimenez was wearing body armor at the time of the incident, and they found evidence of multiple firearms in the pickup truck.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, Gallemore-Jimenez has criminal records in Utah and at least six other states. Those charges include drug possession, driving while intoxicated, burglary and resisting arrest. His Utah driver license had been suspended, the statement said, but he was carrying a valid license issued in Kansas.

Gallemore-Jimenez will be booked into the Salt Lake County Adult Detention Center upon his release from the hospital. Charges have yet to be determined.

[Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Gallemore-Jimenez will be booked into the Utah County Jail.]