MAGNA, Utah — The Salt Lake County District Attorney has filed charges for an alleged carjacking in Magna Friday. According to the district attorney, the whole incident started as someone trying to do a good deed.
The incident started on Friday at around 10:30 p.m. when officers were called to 3500 South 8400 West in Magna. Police say the victim began texting 9-1-1, telling dispatchers they were inside their own vehicle.
Crime
Utah man charged with kidnapping woman in Magna
”I think you should always be kind, but I think you need to know who you’re being kind to,” DA Sim Gill said Tuesday, “ So this was a person who was sort of peripherally an acquaintance to her daughter as a friend, so she decided to do a kind thing and help this person out with a ride.”
Gill says the kind deed took a bad turn when the suspect, identified as 28-year-old Joseph Schultz, asked if he could drive. "Next thing she knows, he’s out of control, driving erratically. She’s asking him to stop, she’s asking him to stop," Gill explained.
Schultz later told officers he didn't want to stop because he was on the run and out on probation after a felony conviction.
According to the probable cause statement, officers located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop. However, the car failed to yield and fled at a high rate of speed…weaving in and out of traffic. The victim, fearing for her safety, asked Schultz to stop, but he refused, telling her to "shut up."
That's when the victim texted 9-1-1 according to Gill, "She actually has the wherewithal with her 911 on her phone and calls law enforcement and lets them know."
Officers eventually brought the chase to an end using a spike strip to hit the vehicle's tires. No other drivers were involved and there were no injuries, Gill says that's thanks to the quick decisive efforts by local law enforcement.
Schultz was charged with aggravated kidnapping, robbery, failure to respond to an officer, and reckless endangerment.
