IDAHO FALLS — An Idaho Falls Police vehicle was hit by a driver trying to get away from police, less than one week after a similar incident in town involving the Idaho State Police.
Trevor Jenkins, 26, was arrested on two outstanding warrants (a parole violation warrant and a failure to appear warrant) and charged with two counts of felony eluding or attempting to elude a police officer, felony possession of a controlled substance, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, and misdemeanor resisting or obstructing police officers.
Jenkins has pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges. He has not entered a plea to the felony charges.
This is the second incident in Idaho Falls involving a law enforcement vehicle in less than one week. On Friday, an Idaho State Police trooper was involved in a crash while pursuing a suspect on Yellowstone Highway and Pancheri Drive. Read more about that case here.
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Details
According to a news release from Idaho Falls Police, officers were patrolling Tuesday night around 9:20 p.m. near Hoopes and South Woodruff avenues when they recognized a green Lexus RX from a pursuit a few days before.
Police checked the Lexus’s license plate and discovered it did not belong to the car it was attached to.
An officer behind the Lexus tried to initiate a traffic stop on Hoopes Avenue near Montcliff Drive. The officer and the Lexus were traveling southbound, but rather than pulling over, the driver in the Lexus sped away from the officer, driving around another car.
A second officer was driving northbound on Hoopes Avenue toward the Lexus and activated his emergency lights. While trying to drive around the second officer’s vehicle, the Lexus clipped the patrol car, severing a wheel from the axle of the patrol car and causing the Lexus to spin.
“As the Lexus came to a stop … the driver continued to attempt to flee in the vehicle,” says the release. “The first officer used his patrol car to contact or push against the suspect vehicle. A third Idaho Falls Police Officer drove to the other side of the suspect car where he and the first officer pinned the suspect car between their patrol vehicles, forcing the vehicle to stop.”
The driver, identified as Jenkins, allegedly climbed out of the window of the Lexus and attempted to run from police. Jenkins was caught a short distance away by officers. Officers said they found Jenkins in possession of a fentanyl “dirty 30” pill and drug paraphernalia. He was booked into the Bonneville County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
According to the release, Jenkins admitted to eluding an officer in the same vehicle last week.
Police say that on May 7 around 3:40 a.m., an officer was patrolling near 1st Street and South Woodruff Avenue. The officer saw the Lexus failing to stop before turning onto 1st Street. The officer got behind the car when it turned onto Woodruff and activated his overhead emergency lights.
The car sped away from the officer and didn’t stop. The officer followed for a distance and activated his siren, but because of safety concerns due to the suspect’s high speed, the officer stopped pursuing.
Through investigation, officers determined Jenkins was the probable driver of the Lexus.
Jenkins is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on May 28. If convicted, he could face up to 12 years in prison.
Though Jenkins has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
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