Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
OGDEN — A federal grand jury has indicted an Ogden couple accused of carjacking an elderly man.
Elvis Tahirovic, 33, and Brittany Ann Peters, 33, are each charged in U.S. District Court with carjacking.
On Jan. 30, the two were in a Mercedes SUV that had been stolen from South Salt Lake and they fled from a Salt Lake police officer, according to the complaint. A high-speed chase ensued, but police ended it due to public safety concerns.
The Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter located the Mercedes traveling north on I-15 in the Farmington area and tracked the car into Weber County. Police positioned themselves to apprehend the Mercedes and an Ogden police officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop. But the driver, later identified as Tahirovic, "immediately accelerated, took evasive maneuvers, and began to drive erratically attempting to flee officers," the court complaint states. Police again abandoned the pursuit due to public safety concerns.
The helicopter then tracked the Mercedes as Tahirovic drove back onto northbound I-15 before going to a Willard neighborhood, where police spiked the vehicle's tires, according to court documents. Police say Tahirovic drove on flat tires back into Weber County and stopped abruptly in an intersection. A woman, later identified as Peters, exited the car, ran to a Chevrolet Tahoe and opened the driver's side door, the indictment states.
Tahirovic then exited the Mercedes, ran to the Tahoe, grabbed the driver — described as an elderly man — and attempted to hit him before he "forcefully jerked" the victim out of the car, according to the indictment.
Tahirovic and Peters got into the Tahoe but were unable to drive away because the man had taken the keys out of the ignition, according to investigators. Tahirovic charged after the man, but "just as Tahirovic was within striking distance of the victim, troopers arrived, and with guns drawn took Tahirovic and Peters into custody," the complaint states.
