Tooele chase puts 2 schools on lockdown

TOOELE — A man is behind bars after narcotics officers say he led them on a chase through a subdivision Wednesday, prompting the lockdown of two schools.

Members of the Tooele Drug Task Force wanted to talk to Brandon Ginter, 34, as part of an ongoing drug distribution investigation, said assistant task force commander Sgt. Todd Hewitt. The officers learned the Tooele man would be at a doctor's office Wednesday and approached him as he exited the building around 12:50 p.m.

"He ran from them in a vehicle," Hewitt said.

The chase entered the Overlake subdivision, prompting officials at nearby Overlake Elementary School and Clarke N. Johnsen Junior High School to put their campuses on lockdown as a precaution.

Hewitt said when agents tried to stop Ginter's car, he exited his vehicle and ran into an unlocked home in the 1500 block of Durocher Lane. The home was occupied by a pregnant woman and at least one child, Hewitt said. They were able to escape and flag down officers.

Before police could surround the home, Ginter fled into a complex of about 100 townhomes. Officers from multiple agencies descended on the area and set up a perimeter.

Hewitt said officers had begun a door-to-door search in the area when Ginter walked out of a vacant townhome about 2 p.m. and surrendered. He was booked into the Tooele County Jail for investigation of felony evading and felony drug charges, Hewitt said. He could also face charges for entering the home during the chase, the sergeant said.

— Geoff Liesik