MURRAY, Utah — Police are searching for a man who is a wanted suspect for a string of armed robberies and for fleeing police.
Thomas Riessen was still on the run Sunday evening after police say he fled from them in a pickup truck and then on foot.
Deputy Chief Todd Grey with Taylorsville Police said officers spotted a red Ford F-150 that matched the description of the vehicle involved in the robberies. The suspect, believed to be Riessen, had robbed multiple businesses in the area by giving a note to an employee and brandishing a gun.
Grey said the truck had no license plate, but it had "distinguishing characteristics that made it stand out." Officers found it at a strip mall on Redwood Road in Taylorsville, where Riessen had allegedly robbed a business just the day before.
When officers attempted to pull the vehicle over, they say Riessen drove away. The pursuit went into Murray, then onto I-15. Police say Riessen abandoned the truck before taking off on foot — jumping a fence and running off into a neighborhood west of the freeway in the area of 5500 South. Two other people were detained in the vehicle.
Despite an extensive search, Riessen had still not yet been found as of Sunday evening.
"The fact that he keeps repeating this issue, repeating these robberies, obviously we know from experience that these kinds of suspects will — if they continue this kind of act — they get more violent," Grey said. "That's what's scary about it: the fact that he continues to do this. We want to get him off the street."
He is described as a white man, 5'10", 150 pounds, with brown hair. He was last seen wearing a white long-sleeve t-shirt with a blue shirt over it, and khaki pants.
He is considered armed and dangerous, and a wanted fugitive for robbery and probation violations.
Police ask for anyone who sees Riessen or knows anything about his whereabouts to call 911 immediately.
