COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah - A man now has to get both of his cars repaired after chasing a thief who stole his vehicle early Friday.

Police say the victim heard someone starting his car outside his apartment near Fort Union Blvd. and 1500 E. just before 2 a.m.

He ran downstairs, jumped into his second car and started chasing his own vehicle he just watched a thief steal.

The victim chased the suspect into Midvale and drove onto eastbound I-215 from State St. where the chase ended.

Authorities said the car thief spotted an off-duty West Valley City officer and made an abrupt u-turn which caused the victim to crash into his own car he was chasing.

"The victim gave us a play-by-play but actually put himself on the wrong freeway," Cottonwood Heights Police Sgt. Christopher McHugh said. "He said he was on I-15 instead of I-215, and again, that's another reason why we would not recommend victims chasing their vehicles around the city."

Police said the suspect is now on the run.

Officers are strongly urging residents to call authorities to report a stolen car rather than take the risk of following it.

Both of the victim's cars now need repairs.

MIDVALE, Utah – Firefighters are investigating what sparked a house fire in Midvale near 7300 S. 300 W. Tuesday morning.

Unified, Murry and West Jordan fire crews were called to the house near Intermountain Medical Center at about 7:30 a.m.

The two people inside the home got out unharmed; two of their cats did not and died in the fire.

A firefighter slipped, injured his ankle while fighting the flames and went to the hospital to be checked.

Fire officials said the blaze started in the home’s garage and caused extensive damage.

The Red Cross is helping the two adults who can no longer live in the home.

MIDVALE, Utah - Unified Police have arrested three suspects accused of kidnapping a 30-year-old man in Midvale.

The victim was able to escape and call the police, which led to the arrests of  44-year-old Gilbert Garcia, 61-year-old Jack Ables and 26-year-old Mitchell Decora.

Officers said the victim called police March 10 to report his security camera was stolen.

Police said the victim alleged the suspects live upstairs in the same apartment complex.

“He identified the suspects as potentially the people upstairs who he had a previous pretty friendly relationship with,” said Lieutenant Brian Lohrke with the Unified Police Department.

The victim told police when he confronted the neighbors, they slammed the apartment door behind him and held him with a knife to his throat.

“He heard the door close behind him, someone grabbed him and put a knife to his throat telling him ‘you better drop this theft charge’ or else he was going to get killed,” said Lohrke.

They started to drive, that’s when the victim said he saw headlights.

“He then jumped across the seat, was able to unlock the door and jump out of the vehicle while it was moving,” Lohrke said.

He sustained minor injuries but was able to escape and call the police.

The next day police were able to locate the orange Cadillac at the Wasatch view apartments.

They say that’s where the final suspect, 44-year-old Gilbert Garcia, lives.

All three of the suspects were interviewed at the Midvale Precinct and then booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. They face charges of aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, theft, and threats.

The affidavit said the victim lost a shoe while he was in the Cadillac and that his phone would be found in their apartment. These things will be investigated as this case develops.

MIDVALE, Utah –  Police have a suspect in custody after he allegedly stole a woman’s purse and hit her with it in Midvale.

Unified Police said the woman was shopping at Savers thrift store Thursday just before noon.

The store requires customers to check their bags and purses at the front before shopping.

The woman told police when she went back to get her purse, it was gone.

She said she looked outside and saw a man with her bag.

The woman went outside to confront him, he assaulted her with her purse and then ran, according to police.

Police found the suspect at the Brighton Place Apartments near State St. and 6800 S. just after 1 p.m. He has been identified as 40-year-old Robert Larson and will be booked into jail on one count of robbery as a second-degree felony.

The woman is in good condition.

MIDVALE, Utah -- Investigators with the Unified Fire Authority are trying to determine the cause of a house fire in Midvale.

Around 9 p.m. Wednesday night, a fire started in a garage and quickly spread to the attic of a home near 8200 South Wood Street.

Fox 13 viewer Angela Waterbury provided this video of the fire.

MIDVALE, Utah — City leaders are trying to solve a mystery.

Earlier this week, the Public Works department received an anonymous letter from someone claiming to be nearly 90 years old and asking the city for forgiveness.

“I’m enclosing this $50 bill to pay for a stop sign I took many years ago, when I was a thoughtless teenager,” the letter reads in part. “Stupid might be a better word for it.”

The letter postmarked from North Houston, Texas was received earlier this week. It does not include a return address.

Inside the envelope, along with the handwritten note, is a $50 bill.

The writer didn’t specify a date when the theft took place, but Midvale Mayor Robert Hale believes it happened about 75 years ago in the 1940s.

“He paid more than $50 in 75 years if he’s been carrying that burden on his shoulder,” Hale said.

Hale hopes whoever sent the letter will eventually reveal his or her identity so the city can recognize that person for making amends and setting an example that it is never too late to do the right thing.

“He’s cleared it up a far as we’re concerned," Hale said. "We can scratch out that line on the account receivable now."

The mayor will honor the writer’s wishes by using the money to replace the next stop sign that needs to be replaced.

Here is the tweet with the text of entire letter:

MIDVALE, Utah — Salt Lake County DA Sam Gill concluded that an officer who shot and injured a man in a McDonald’s parking lot during a scuffle was legally justified in doing so.

Gill released a letter regarding the August 15 shooting Thursday.

Sgt. Grant Richardson told authorities investigating the incident that he stopped in the McDonald’s parking lot, located near 7200 South and I-15 in Midvale, after seeing a man acting “erratically.” Richardson said he called for backup and approached the man, Steve Michael Darrel Hawkins.

After Richardson attempted to communicate with Hawkins, Hawkins attacked him and stabbed him with a screwdriver, according to the letter.

The investigative report said that after being stabbed the first time and seeing Hawkins ready to attack him again, Richardson fired his weapon at Hawkins. Hawkins continued to fight until other officers restrained him and took him into custody, and to the hospital. Hawkins’ wound was not fatal and he was shortly released back into police custody.

Gill said Richardson’s belief that deadly force was necessary to stop Hawkins’ attack was reasonable. The statement said the circumstances gave Richardson reason to believe Hawkins presented a risk of death or serious bodily injury to himself or the other officers on the scene. Because of this, the statement said, Richardson’s use of deadly force is justified, and the DA’s office will not press charges.

MIDVALE, Utah — Police have arrested two suspects after one allegedly assaulted a police officer Thursday afternoon.

Sergeant Melody Gray with Unified Police Department said police responded to the Jordan Credit Union on Center Street in Midvale.

Gray said when officers arrived, two suspects tried to flee the scene. One of them got away.

When an officer spotted the second suspect, Gray said the suspect pulled out a gun and pointed it at the officer.

After less than an hour of searching, police have apprehended both suspects.

MIDVALE, Utah -- While serving in Vietnam, family told Unified Police detective, Ben Pender, Lester Janice almost died in a mine explosion.

"He had told the story that he remembers being in a body bag, getting zipped up. At the time, he moved a foot which got their attention," said Pender.

Several years after climbing out of a body bag and receiving a purple heart for his sacrifice, police say 62-year-old Janice was killed in his own apartment in January 2009.

Police say the manager at the Candlestick Apartments in Midvale called 9-1-1 for a welfare check after newspapers were piling up outside Janice's apartment. When they went inside, police found Janice strangled to death, with two belts around his neck.

A month prior, in December 2008, police say two sisters, Jerah Jean Santos-Ramirez and Victoria Bigcrow Clown, were staying with Janice, along with their young kids, in his apartment.

"Several years prior he had a relationship with their mother," Pender said.

However during that time, Santos-Ramirez took off for a few days, leaving Janice to care for her kids.

"They couldn’t get Jerah to come back home, so I think when she did come back home, I think Lester probably unloaded on her," said Pender. "He was very frustrated with the fact that she had been gone."

Police say that argument turned deadly, but it took the sisters several years to admit it. Originally back in 2009, the sisters took Janice's 2002 Ford minivan back to their home in South Dakota, but said they knew nothing about his murder.

After the case went cold, Detective Pender took over. He discovered some new information and interviewed Bigcrow Clown again a few months ago.

"This was an extensive interview," Pender said. "It lasted around four hours with her. As it went on, I could see that this had been weighing on her. I actually showed her a picture of Lester and that was the turning point."

During that interview, Bigcrow Clown said that her sister, Santos-Ramirez, had strangled Janice during that argument. Then the two stole his keys and drove their kids back to South Dakota.

"I don’t think she’s being 100% honest, but I think she confirmed a lot of the things we already knew in the case," said Pender.

Both sisters have been extradited. They're currently in the Salt Lake County Jail facing murder, robbery, and obstruction of justice charges.

MIDVALE, Utah — Unified Police are searching for a suspect in a home invasion robbery.

Investigators said around 5 p.m. Tuesday, a masked man made his way into a home on Maple Street and 7500 South through an open garage door.

The suspect held the resident at knifepoint and demanded the keys to her car.

“She didn’t have the keys,” UPD Sgt. Melody Gray said. “He tied her up, went through some drawers and things and took some property of hers.”

About 10 minutes after the suspect left, the victim flagged down her neighbor.

“She had her head out the door and was just screaming for me,” Lynzi Hansen said. “As soon as I saw the panic on her face and how scared she was and realized what had actually happened, that’s when the fear set in.”

Hansen cut the tape from her friend's wrists before going inside the home.

“I went back into her back room and saw that things had been gone through and it looked like someone had been there to rob her,” Hansen said.

Police said home invasion robberies are rare but concerning.

“It’s very frightening for somebody to walk into someone’s home. They don't know who’s inside. They don’t know who they are going to encounter,” Gray said.

The crime has rattled many who live in the quiet neighborhood.

“It was right next door to me and I didn’t hear anything. I didn’t see anything. I couldn’t help it or prevent it, was just an awful feeling,” Hansen said.

No one was injured.

Police want to hear from anyone who may have seen suspicious activity in the neighborhood. So far they have few leads.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic man in his early 20s with a heavy build.

He made demands to the victim while speaking Spanish.

Anyone with information can call UPD at 801-743-7000.

The Utah Lt. Governor's Office tells FOX 13 that West Jordan, Vineyard, Lehi and Salem have stated an intent to try it out. The deadline for cities to opt in is Dec. 31.

Ranked choice voting is being implemented in the 2019 municipal election cycle as a pilot project passed by the Utah State Legislature. Instead of voting on candidates as "hot or not," you rank them from "first to worst."

West Jordan Mayor Jim Riding tried it out at a holiday luncheon for public works employees. He handed out ballots with the names of superheroes from Ant Man to Wonder Woman.

"Nobody came up with over 50 percent first choice. So we kept eliminating the lowest and adding their second choice," he said.

As they tabulated the results and dropped the lowest vote-getters, Wonder Woman was the first choice by 31% of voters. She was also the eighth choice of 21% of voters.

"By the time we eliminated folks and moved their second choice into a first choice, she won. Batman came in second. It was kind of fun to do this to see how it may work," he said.

That's because Wonder Woman managed to capture enough of people's second and third (and fourth and so on) choice votes to win the majority vote. Mayor Riding said the idea of a ranked choice vote in a municipal election is "intriguing." He still had questions about certifying the election and how it would work with multiple open council seats.

The ranked choice votes for West Jordan Mayor Jim Riding's experiment. (Data via West Jordan City)

"I saw firsthand how the process works. It was a smooth procedure," said Dustin Gettel, a Midvale City Councilman who has been pushing for his community to jump on board with the ranked choice voting experiment.

Gettel has been through a ranked choice election as a candidate for an office in the Salt Lake County Democratic Party. He was among eight candidates for a party office.

"I lost," he chuckled.

Still, Gettel believes it's a better way of electing people. Candidates don't have to plan for two elections and they have to be more willing to reach out to voters who aren't in their base.

"You want to get a consensus candidate rather than just someone who’s just bombastic or someone who has high approval but high negativity," he said. "Instead of trying to be the best candidate, you’re also trying to be not the worst candidate."

Votes are counted in West Jordan Mayor Jim Riding's (right) ranked choice election experiment. (Photo by Ben Winslow, FOX 13 News)

On Utah's Capitol Hill, ranked choice voting has attracted bipartisan support. Rep. Marc Roberts, R-Santaquin, and Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake City, co-sponsored the bill to allow for the pilot project. Republicans and Democrats alike have spoken of its advantages, including an overall savings by eliminating primaries. But critics of it point to voter confusion and coalition governments as negatives.

The Salt Lake County Clerk, who administers many municipal elections, may also not be able to implement it without a software upgrade for voting machines. While New Year's Eve is the deadline to opt-in, cities have until the end of May to opt-out if there's problems.

Mayor Riding wasn't completely in, but said it was worth trying if they could. He hoped the legislature would provide some funding for cities to try it.

"The people out there, if their first choice doesn’t make it they’re happy because their second choice, that’s (also) who they wanted," he said.

SALT LAKE COUNTY, Utah - Unified Police are investigating a deadly shooting at a Midvale gas station and a subsequent suicide in Sandy Wednesday night.

Police said the victim is 40-year-old Ray Paul Willie Vasquez and the suspect is 24-year-old Jose Luis Garcia.

"The suspect and victim are known to each other and this incident was not random," a tweet from UPD said.

Officers and Unified Fire Authority responded to the Maverik at 7800 South and Main Street in Midvale just after 9 p.m.

Investigators say a suspect in a black Jeep Wrangler fired shots into a green Pontiac sedan in the parking lot.

The man shot in that car died from his injuries.

Police say the suspect in the SUV sped off, leading police on a chase that ended in Sandy.

Officers say, during the chase driver died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound near 1545 E. 8425 S.

That forced the Jeep to roll through a fence at Peruvian Park Elementary School.

"It may take a little bit more investigative work to try and find out what this connection was between the two parties, what led them together, what was the motive, but they will do anything they need to in order to hopefully figure that out," said Sgt. Melody Gray, Unified Police spokeswoman.

The Canyons School District says classes are continuing as planned Thursday.

MIDVALE, Utah – Two men are dead after a murder-suicide that started in Midvale and ended in Cottonwood Heights Wednesday night.

Detective Kevin Mallory with the Unified Police Department was somewhat tight-lipped about the relationship between the victim and the suspect, but a source shed some light on a potential motive.

"We’re not disclosing what that relationship is, but we do know there is a relationship," Mallory said. "This was not a random act and it was not gang- or drug-related."

A source tells FOX 13 that the shooter, 24-year-old Luis Garcia, killed his mother's boyfriend, 40-year-old Raymond Vasquez.

"We do believe there was a relationship between the mother of the shooter and the victim," Mallory said. "To the degree of that relationship, I’m not positive at this point."

The reason may be tied to Vasquez's criminal history. Vasquez was released from prison a few months ago for aggravated sexual abuse of a child.

According to court documents, the victim in that case was the 8-year-old daughter of his ex-girlfriend. A source told FOX 13 the shooter was concerned for his 8-year-old sister after his mother struck up a relationship with Vasquez.

"I don’t know the exact family dynamic as far as if there’s a sibling or there’s an 8-year-old sister or anything like that," Mallory said.

The source said that's what drove Garcia to shoot Vasquez at the Maverik gas station in Midvale Wednesday night around 9 p.m. From there, he drove off in his black Jeep Wrangler.

When Cottonwood Heights Police caught up with him, he crashed into a fence at Peruvian Park Elementary before taking his own life.

"We’ve got two different crime scenes we need to process forensically and we also have all of the interviews and things like that to try to get to the bottom of why this happened," Mallory said.

Even though the suspect and victim are both dead in this case, Unified Police said they’re still determined to get answers.

"Whether or not charges get filed – that’s not likely to happen – but we still want to make sure we’re as thorough as we possibly can be," Mallory said.

UPDATE: Unified Police confirmed Thursday morning the missing man has been found and he is safe.

No further details about how or where he was found were released.

Previous story continues below:

MIDVALE, Utah — Unified Police is asking for the public’s help in locating 55-year-old Darrel “Lance” Owens.

Owens, who has diabetes and schizophrenia, was last seen at his group home at 663 East Acoma Road in Midvale around 3:00 p.m. Tuesday.

Police said Owens does not have his medication and was wearing a blue sweatshirt, gray sweatpants and a gray baseball cap.

He is 6-foot-2 and weighs 212 pounds.

Anyone with information about Owens whereabouts is asked to contact Unified Police at 801-743-7000.

This is a developing story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.

MIDVALE, Utah — Firefighters have put out an attic fire in Midvale, according to United Fire Authority.

Dispatch confirmed the fire near 7400 South and 600 East just after 3:00 p.m. Wednesday and UFA said the fire was out just over half an hour later.

UFA said an investigation is underway to determine the cause but it initially looks like the fire started in the dryer vent and moved into the attic.

This is a developing story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.

MIDVALE, Utah — A woman was arrested in Midvale on Saturday for abusing and assaulting her parents, police say.

Anne Cockrell, 42, was arrested on two accounts of aggravated abuse of an elder and two accounts of aggravated assault, according to the probable cause statement.

A Salt Lake County Sheriff’s officer responded to a domestic call at a hotel in Midvale. Cockrell was away from the scene when the officer arrived.

According to the statement, Cockrell “went crazy on her mother and started beating and hitting her” inside the hotel where her parents stay.  Cockrell hit her mother with her own cane and oxygen tanks.

Cockrell’s father entered the room to break up the fight. She then began hitting him with her hands, cane and oxygen tanks.

Then she poured laundry detergent on both of her parents while telling them she wanted to kill them, the probable cause statement reports.

The report says her father had lacerations and bruising on his arms. It did not mention her mother’s condition. Both victims are over the age of 65.

Cockrell is being held in Salt Lake County Jail.

MIDVALE, Utah. — Unified Police Department has identified the victim in a suspicious death that occurred in Midvale, Utah on Tuesday.

According to UPD,  the victim was identified as Lynette Fay Pearse, 66, a resident of Midvale.

Tuesday afternoon, UPD received a call after a member of housekeeping at a Motel 6 found a woman’s body in a room. Investigators say the woman was alone in the room but are calling the death suspicious.

The cause of death is still under investigation.  Limited detail has been provided and the investigation is ongoing. Stay with Fox 13 for the latest updates.

MIDVALE, Utah—Both UDOT and individual cities throughout the State have their snow plows out tonight taking care of major highways and residential roads.

Residents in Midvale say they are getting warnings on their car warning they will be cited if they don’t get their car off the road for snowplows to come through,  but haven't seen a plow come through.

Midvale resident Amanda Wilkins presented a paper slip warning “No overnight winter parking,” she has lived in midvale her whole life and said she has not seen snowplows go by her street.

"They took the time to put this on all of the cars, but they still didn’t plow our street," Wilkins said.

Inside city hall, spokesperson Laura Magnus said depending on the size of the snowstorm, it can take plows days to get to each neighborhood after taking care of main roads.

Roland Garcia has been running plow trucks for Midvale city for five years, driving down roads with cars can be dangerous, Garcia said, but it also can eat up the clock.

"It’s harder to do your job when you have to back down the street because you can’t pass through because of traffic,” Garcia said.