CEDAR CITY, Utah (ABC4) — An Illinois man who allegedly took a Utah Highway Patrol officer on a 150 mph chase in southern Utah pleaded guilty today.
According to the police report, on Feb. 19, Hinton lead officers in a high-speed pursuit, that allegedly started because of a window tint.
The man, Stewart Hinton IV, was arrested on Saturday, Feb. 19 on multiple charges relating to his car. They are as follows:
- Failure to stop or respond at the command of police.
- Reckless driving.
- Driving on a suspended or revoked license.
- Forging/falsifying a special plate or permit.
- Window tint violation.
- No proof of insurance.
- Manufactured or possession of burglary tools.
- Possession of a controlled substance (marijuana/spice.)
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia.
Hinton pleaded guilty to the charge of failure to respond to officers’ signal to stop, a 3rd-degree felony on Tuesday. He faces 0-5 years in prison. Hinton signed a plea bargain, to request that he does 120 days in jail, 24 months probation, and a $1000 fine, courts have not decided on his sentence yet.
The officer saw a gray Audi sedan driving northbound near Cedar City with significant window tint. The officer attempted to observe the vehicle, and possibly conduct a traffic stop for a window tint violation when Hinton began driving faster going northbound, the police report stated.
When Hinton came upon traffic blocking both lanes, he allegedly drove the sedan into the right shoulder to pass traffic. At that point, Hinton was going approximately 140-150 mph, and the officer said he turned on his overhead emergency lights and sirens to stop the vehicle. Because he didn’t pull over, the officer called Cedar Dispatch to help, the report stated.
Reportedly, Cedar Dispatch sent out several officers to assist in the pursuit. As the officers continued to follow Hinton northbound, he led officers on a multiple-county pursuit. At mile marker 128, Hinton turned around and began driving southbound.
According to the report, Hinton was finally stopped after the help of the DPS helicopter and local agencies caused him to get the sedan stuck in the snow in Beaver behind the Flying J gas station.
When Hinton was approached, he said he ran from police because he had no driver’s license, but that the vehicle was not stolen. According to the police report, the temporary tag from Georgia expired, and the Michigan temporary tag was fraudulent.
When officers approached the car, they said they saw a dispensary bag in plain view on the driver’s side door, as well as the smell of raw marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. According to the report, when questioned, Hinton denied anything illegal inside the car and said there was just some marijuana he bought from a dispensary in Las Vegas. However, he also allegedly admitted he did not have a valid medical marijuana card.
The sedan was transported to the Beaver County Jail port, and after a search warrant was granted, officers reportedly found drug paraphernalia and marijuana in the sedan. They also found a total of fourteen catalytic converters wrapped in towels or insulation, all from different types of motor vehicles, and seemed poorly cut, the police report said. There was also a floor jack, impact drill, and saw blades inside the vehicle.
Officers said they determined Hinton had a revoked license from Illinois, and Hinton said the vehicle belonged to a friend who was in jail. Hinton was placed under arrested and booked into Iron County Jail on his charges on Feb. 19.
Hinton pleaded guilty Tuesday in the Fifth Judicial District Court of Iron County to the charge of failure to respond to officers’ signal to stop. The court has yet to determine his sentence or fines.
