Man arrested after selling drugs to undercover agent, fleeing officers, police say

SALT LAKE CITY — A man was taken into custody Thursday after police say he escaped from officers for a time after selling drugs to an undercover agent in Salt Lake City.

A probable cause statement says 26-year-old Derian Enrique Lamas Arellano met up with an undercover agent to sell a “distributable amount of meth.”

The statement said the man sold the drugs and drove away, and police officers got behind his car and tried to pull him over. However, the man reportedly sped off.

“(Arellano) began driving away at a high rate of speed. (Arellano) failed to stop to the lights and sirens and fled,” the statement said.

Eventually, police said Arellano crashed into a parked car in West Jordan, disabling his vehicle. At that point, the statement said he got out of the car and fled on foot.

“Containment was set around the area but (Arellano) was not located,” the statement said.

That’s when police documents say authorities got a warrant for the man’s house. Inside, they found “a distributable amount of cocaine,” as well as a firearm, the statement said.

Officers were leaving Arellano’s house when they spotted him walking down the street nearby, the statement said. Police took him into custody without further trouble.

The man is accused of multiple felonies for distribution of a controlled substance, prohibited dangerous weapon conduct, two counts of possession with intent to distribute and fleeing from police.