A man who led officers on a chase with five teenage girls in the car was given probation for his actions.
Daniel Ray Potter, 21, of Rock Springs, appeared in the Third District court of Judge Richard Lavery at a sentencing hearing to a felony charge of interference with a peace officer, and three misdemeanors, two counts of reckless endangering and fleeing or attempting to elude police officers.
All of Potter’s felony charges, five felonious restraint, and three misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence, (second offense), reckless driving, and operation of vehicle upon approach of authorized emergency vehicles, were dismissed.
Under a plea agreement, Potter pleaded no contest to a felony of interference with a peace officer and guilty to three misdemeanors, two counts of reckless endangering and fleeing or attempting to elude police officers.
He was given a four-to six-year prison sentence on the felony and a two-and-a-half-year jail sentence on the misdemeanors. All of these were suspended; and he was placed on four years supervised probation.
All of these charges stem from an incident that happened on Sept. 12, 2015. A Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Deputy responded to an odd phone call about a possible fight and the threatening of gun usage on Blue Rim Road.
While the deputy was investigating, he saw a vehicle approaching in the opposite direction so the deputy took the spot light and moved it slowly back and forth to signal the vehicle to stop. The deputy also had the emergency lights and sirens going, but the vehicle didn’t slow down, but accelerated by this deputy and two other deputies who were in the roadway.
The two men who made the call told the officer that the owner of the vehicle was the person who assaulted one of them.
A deputy followed the white Chevrolet and tried to conduct a traffic stop, but the vehicle continued to flee from Blue Rim Road to Highway 374. From there, the vehicle made its way to the westbound Interstate 80 ramp. The vehicle then drove through a ditch and barrier and headed back toward Green River. Once in Green River, the vehicle went up Wild Horse Canyon Road, which turns into County Road 4-53. The deputy continued to follow and saw the vehicle in the desert at the intersection of County Roads 4-53 and 4-14.
The deputy approached the vehicle and hit the driver’s-side window with it, breaking the window. He told the person to get out of the vehicle. This person, told the officer off and drove away. The deputy returned to his vehicle and continued his pursuit.
He then saw the vehicle stop and two teenage girls were standing in the road. The deputy stopped to check on the girls and noticed they both had blood on them. They were complaining of neck, head and face injuries and told the officer Daniel Potter was drunk and driving the vehicle. They said they asked numerous times to be let out, but he wouldn’t let them out.
They told the officers three other teenage girls were still in the vehicle with Potter. The vehicle then crashed and the deputies checked on the vehicle, but Potter was gone. They found the other three teenage girls in the truck. Two of the girls were transported to the Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County where they were treated for injuries.
Potter was found later and told the officers he didn’t want to stop the vehicle because he had been drinking that night and was already on probation for driving under the influence.
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