A man that Unified police had spent over six hours searching for Monday evening ended up turning himself in, after managing to get himself stuck and being forced to call 911. Shane Paul Owens, 46, had evaded officers most of the evening, and in his continued attempts to do so he hid himself within the boiler room an old church building. Upon entering the room, Owen discovered that none of the doors inside had a handle that would have let him exit the room, effectively trapping him inside.
Police officials have said that after some time Owen was forced to admit he was stuck and unable to do anything to save himself, thus prompting the call to 911 to turn himself in. Owen had been running from police when officers began looking for him based on a tip he was hiding in the Woods Cross area. He was wanted on several warrants for his arrest and after being spotted around 10:30 p.m. Owen fled when officers tried to pull him over. Backup officers placed down a spike strip not far from where the chase started, causing the tires on Owen's vehicle to puncture and go flat. He then began fleeing on foot.
Owen broke into the old church through a window shortly after being forced to flee on foot. SWAT was called to the scene on the fear that Owen may have been armed, and a standoff began. After nearly six hours of being trapped inside the church officers were about to enter, when they received the call from Owen turning himself in. He was taken into custody without incident. When searched officers found drugs on Owen.
Photo courtesy of Unified Police Department