A man is charged in a long crime spree Wednesday that started with stolen vehicle stuck in the snow.
At 3:15 p.m., officers were called to 13th and Silver Ridge Road. The 79-year-old victim explained that he noticed a Dodge Dakota stuck in a snow drift by his house, so he offered to help dig the vehicle out. The disabled vehicle was driven by 27 year old Hiew M Nguyen. As the victim began digging the truck out, Nguyen jumped out of the truck and got into the victim’s Volkswagen Jetta. The victim ran back to his vehicle and tried to grab the steering wheel, but Nguyen took off dragging the victim and causing pain and discomfort.
At 3:30 p.m., officers learned that the Dodge Dakota had been stolen at 2:50 p.m. the same day from the 6800 block of A Street. The 58-year-old victim did not yet know his vehicle was stolen.
At 8:50 p.m., officers responded to a collision at North 84th Street and Adams Street. The stolen Jetta driven by Nguyen ran a red light colliding with two other vehicles. The collision severely damaged all three vehicles and sent two occupants to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. An 18 year old who was not involved in the accident stopped to render aid. When he got out of his Jeep Cherokee, Nguyen ran, got into it and took off. This makes the third vehicle taken by Nguyen
At 9:00 p.m., Nguyen returned to the scene of the collision in the stolen vehicle and drove into the back of an LFR fire engine. Nguyen drove off. Officers tried to stop him but he kept on going. The pursuit was stopped due to public safety.
at 9:30 p.m., officers spotted the stolen vehicle and tried to stop it at South 25th and M Street. Nguyen stopped, but when officers approached the vehicle, he again took off and intentionally rammed the Jeep head-on into a marked police cruiser, causing neck and back pain to the officer and disabling both vehicles. Nguyen disobeyed commands from police officers and continued to start the vehicle he was driving to try to flee the scene. Eventually, officers were forced to break out the rear window of the vehicle and deploy a Taser. Nguyen continued to fight with officers who had to physically removed him from the vehicle. Officers transported Nguyen to a local area hospital for evaluation and treatment. Nguyen had sustained minor facial injuries during the motor vehicle collision at North 84th Street and Adams Street, and he attempted to spit blood on officers, LFR personnel, and hospital staff.
Nguyen was booked for auto theft, robbery flee to avoid arrest, leaving the scene of an accident and resisting arrest.