WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah ( ABC4 ) — The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office has filed a first-degree murder charge against a man who allegedly fled police in a stolen vehicle and crashed into another driver head-on, resulting in her death.
On Oct. 2, Cesar Omar Perez was at Fairbourne Park with another person when they were approached by West Valley City police officers. Officers said they found Perez smoking a marijuana cigarette. Perez “seemed very anxious and shared that he was recently robbed and did not have his ID,” police said.
He reportedly had a backpack and an orange metal pipe in his possession, and “kept touching the metal pipe,” according to police. Officers asked Perez if they could do a pat-down for officer safety, and Perez ran.
Taylorsville officer shoots, kills man in stolen vehicle Perez reportedly stole an electrical work and fled the scene, according to a press release from the district attorney’s office. A witness tried to stop Perez and ended up hanging on to the side of the truck while Perez drove away. The witness reportedly told police he was afraid to let go for fear of falling underneath the rear wheel of the vehicle.
The witness fell and suffered minor injuries to his shoulder and elbow, the release states.
Perez allegedly continued to flee, hitting another truck after “failing to navigate a turn due to high speed.” Officers lost sight of him but a witness pointed out Perez’s location. Officers approached the truck, believing that Perez had abandoned it, but Perez put the truck in reverse and rammed the driver-side door of a police vehicle.
Perez then pulled into a driveway and reversed again, ramming into another police vehicle before fleeing. As Perez fled, he headed the wrong direction on a one-way road. Two vehicles were reportedly able to avoid Perez, but a third vehicle was hit head-on.
The driver of that vehicle has been identified as Nancy Arbon. She was taken to a local hospital in serious condition and later declared deceased due to her injuries.
Perez has now been charged with first-degree felony murder, first-degree felony aggravated robbery, two counts of second-degree felony assault on a peace officer resulting in injury, two counts of third-degree felony failure to respond to officers signal to stop, class A misdemeanor failure to stop at the command of law officer, class B misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance, and class B misdemeanor accident involving property damage.
The DA’s office has also filed two other cases against Perez — the first relating to an alleged road rage incident in Sandy on Sept. 8, and the second an alleged burglary in Salt Lake City on Oct. 1.
“This was an entirely preventable tragedy. The defendant put many lives at risk with his actions, and ultimately took the life of another. Ms. Arbon’s life was cut short by this carelessness. Our hearts go out to her family and loved ones,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “As we work through this process, we are grateful for the officers that put themselves in harms way to prevent an even larger tragedy. All persons accused of wrongdoing are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.”
No further information is available at this time.
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