SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A third person has been charged in the destruction of a Salt Lake City police car set on fire during protests over the death of George Floyd.
Connor Peebles, 21, of Belmont, Michigan, helped flip the vehicle onto its roof Saturday, prosecutors said in court documents. Peebles was charged Wednesday with felony counts of criminal mischief and rioting along with assault on a police officer.
RELATED: Two men charged after Salt Lake City police car torched during riots
A police officer was arriving at the police station when she was surrounded by a crowd of people who began pounding on the windows, prosecutors said. Other officers helped her out of the car before it was destroyed.
Peebles later told police that he had damaged the patrol car and threw water bottles at police officers, authorities said in court documents.
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Peebles could face up to five years in prison if convicted of the riot count. The criminal mischief count carries a more severe punishment because of the number of people involved with flipping the car and is punishable by up to life in prison, according to court documents.
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Two Salt Lake City men who are accused of tossing combustible substances into the patrol car were both charged with arson in federal court on Wednesday.
No attorney was listed in court records who could comment on Peebles’ behalf.
