Oliver Benavidez, associated with the 38th Street gang, sought by law officers since he allegedly hit a deputy with a car late Saturday.
The Salt Lake County SWAT team surrounded a condo near 1400 South Rutherford Avenue in Bluffdale at about midnight Wednesday, said sheriff's office spokesman Don Hutson. Inside was 31-year-old Oliver Benavidez, sought by law officers since he allegedly hit a deputy with a car late Saturday. Benavidez was wanted for two felony fleeing from police warrants, and when a metro gang unit deputy pulled over a car Benavidez was riding in, he knocked the driver out of the car and hit the officer in the leg as he sped away. Metro gang officers tracked Benavidez to a friend's condo in Bluffdale, and were told he was hiding in an upstairs closet, where he had access to two handguns and a rifle, Hutson said. "Benavidez made it clear it was not going to be arrested," Hutson said. He did not come out and officers called the SWAT team. They tried to contact him with a phone and a bullhorn, but all they heard was the sound of Benavidez barricading himself in the house, Hutson said. Then officers threw in tear gas, and Benavidez quickly gave himself up at about 5 a.m. He was booked on the outstanding warrants, along with new charges of fleeing police and aggravated assault on a police officer. According to Hutson, he is associated with the 38th Street gang.
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