Man steals electric motorcycles from U-Haul, prompting long police chase

ST GEORGE, Utah — A man is under arrest after police said he crashed through a U-Haul storefront, stole two motorcycles, and then led police on a foot chase.  

St. George police said that one day after returning a rental truck, 37-year-old Jesse Salmon went back to the location and broke through the store’s front glass. Police said Salmon stole a motorcycle from the store and left. He reportedly returned a few hours later and stole a second motorcycle.  

The motorcycles in question are Surron electric motorcycles, which cost $5,200 each. Police said the storefront damages were between $5,000 and $7,000. 

Storeowners had tracking tags on the U-haul motorcycles and were able to ping their location outside a nearby storage unit where they saw Salmon flee from the police.

With the phone number Salmon provided on his rental agreement, storeowners were able to call him. According to police documents, he said he was willing to return the motorcycles if police met him at his storage unit. 

Upon their arrival, police said one motorcycle had already been found in some bushes near the storage unit. Police said that Salmon fled from the storage unit on foot when they arrived. 

Salmon continued to evade officers, reportedly climbing a fence while being commanded by police to stop.

Police said they searched for nearly an hour before finding Salmon hiding in a garbage can, when he again attempted to run from the police. This time, he was eventually detained.

A police body search led to the discovery of half a gram of what police believed to be heroin along with drug paraphernalia.

Salmon was arrested on the suspicion of multiple charges. They include intentional damage to properties, theft and possession of controlled substances and paraphernalia. He is also suspected of burglary, failure to stop at police commands, and interference with an arresting officer. 

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