Deputy who stops fugitive in Spanish Fork says “It was a team effort”

SPANISH FORK – The Utah County Sheriff’s deputy being credited with ending a five-day manhunt says he’s banged up, but, he would do it all over again if he needed to.

Police from several different agencies were chasing Justin Llewelyn, who police say shot at officers in Riverton before shooting and injuring a man on Saturday before stealing his car.  Llewelyn had taken off from Provo and went into Spanish Fork. Deputy Justin Mortensen was waiting for him on Main Street.  He says, “I was trying to get in there to take over the chase for the group.  They just wound up funneling him right to me, but, it was a total team effort.  I just stopped the vehicle and the other guys that were there came and got him into custody.”

Mortensen says no one was in position to do a PIT maneuver, so, he had no choice but to slam his vehicle into the stolen truck Llewelyn was driving.  He says, “I knew there was going to be another shootout if he stopped.  He’d already shot it out with [Unified Police] first. He’d already shot a civilian.”

The pick-up was thrown into a tow truck and was crushed on its left side.  “This is the first major car accident I had ever been in.  I knew my airbag was going to go off, so I just made the turn into the intersection, accelerated and took out the vehicle,” Mortensen says.  He has some scratches on his right arm, some sf=oft tissue damage to his left wrist, and a rash from the airbag on the left side of his face, but, he says he has absolutely no regrets.