Daggett search and rescue member arrested in child porn investigation

DUTCH JOHN, Daggett County — A member of the Daggett County sheriff's search and rescue team was arrested Thursday following a two-month investigation into his alleged possession of images depicting the sexual abuse of children.

David Lee Jones, however, didn't go peacefully, according to Duchesne County sheriff's detective Dan Bruso, a member of the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Jones, 43, was interviewed at his home in Dutch John for about an hour Thursday before Bruso and Daggett County Undersheriff Chris Collett informed him that he was under arrest.

“He was really calm and very polite, but when he realized he was going with us, his mood changed,” Bruso said.

Jones ran to a bedroom, where he tried to retrieve a loaded .40-caliber Glock pistol from a backpack, the detective said. Bruso tackled Jones and Collett fired his Taser at the man. But the Taser's probes were too close together when they entered Jones' body and the device failed to subdue him, Bruso said.

During the "wrestling match" that followed, Jones tried to pull Bruso's gun from its holster, the detective said. Jones eventually became exhausted under the weight of Bruso and Collett and was taken into custody when additional deputies arrived.

Jones' wife was home during the incident. She did not interfere with efforts to arrest her husband, Bruso said. “She was actually very helpful.”

Investigators seized several computers and other electronic devices from the home for forensic examination.

Jones has been a member of the Daggett County search and rescue team for at least two years, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Karen Peterson. Because of that connection, he was booked into the Uintah County Jail for investigation of disarming a peace officer, 26 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, and resisting arrest.

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