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- Two men were arrested in Tooele after a high-speed chase with police Monday night.
- Both are suspected of distributing large quantities of drugs throughout the Salt Lake Valley.
TOOELE — Two men suspected of distributing large quantities of drugs throughout the Salt Lake Valley were arrested Monday night after leading police on a high-speed chase.
Timothy Madison Barfield, Jr., 37, and Caleb Lamontese Graham, 23, who both have ties to California, were booked into the Tooele County Jail for investigation of five counts of drug possession with intent to distribute, failing to stop for police, obstruction of justice, possession of drug paraphernalia and marijuana possession.
Barfield, the suspected getaway driver, was also arrested for investigation of an additional count of failing to stop for police and reckless driving.
The arrests were part of an ongoing investigation by the FBI Wasatch Metro Drug Task Force, which consists of agents from the FBI and Davis Metro Narcotic Strike Force.
On Monday, agents spotted the two men in Tooele County and attempted to pull them over. Because Barfield's criminal history includes manslaughter and Graham's history includes threats to kill another person, investigators contacted the Utah Highway Patrol to assist with the "high-risk" traffic stop, according to a police booking affidavit.
"The vehicle initially came to a stop on the Tooele side of the Salt Lake/Tooele County line," the affidavit states.
But when the men were ordered out of the vehicle at gunpoint, they drove off. The ensuing chase reached a speed of 110 mph before troopers were able to successfully spike the fleeing car's tires, the affidavit says. Both men then got out of the car and ran, but were captured about a mile later, according to police.
During the chase, the Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter followed the vehicle and investigators reported seeing a backpack thrown out the window. Officers were able to find the backpack which contained 6,000 fentanyl pills, in addition to various amounts of fentanyl powder, crack cocaine, and meth, according to the affidavit.
"It should be noted that this case is pending a federal review for indictment as this has been a long-term investigation into this drug trafficking organization where 7 pounds of field tested positive methamphetamine was seized along with approximately 2,500 fentanyl pills, 1 pound of cocaine and multiple firearms from a residence that Caleb and Timothy had been known to be residing at," agents noted in the affidavit.
Those items were seized during a search warrant served four months ago.
