A man was recovering Saturday after Millard County sheriff's deputies shot him during an armed confrontation in Utah's West Desert.
Three deputies are now on administrative leave pending a series of investigations into the shooting.
About 3:40 a.m. Saturday, investigators said deputies responded to a 911 call about someone driving away from a 7-Eleven store in Delta without paying for gas. Deputies spotted a vehicle matching the description of the gas thief's car and tried to pull it over.
"The driver of the vehicle ignored signals by the deputies to stop, and a pursuit was initiated," Millard County Sheriff's Lt. Roger Young said Saturday.
The chase began in Delta on Desert Mountain Road and went into the desert, where officers said the suspect made a U-turn and tried to run down the deputies' cars.
"He did it twice," Young said. "There were no car crashes. There's enough room out here in the desert, we just moved around."
During the chase, the man waved a handgun and deputies fired on the car in an attempt to stop it, the Millard County Sheriff's Office said. Deputies said the man eventually got out of his car just past the Millard-Juab County line. A Millard County sheriff's deputy ordered a K-9 to pursue the man, who was now on foot.
"He was out of the car, the dog was deployed and that's when he drew his gun," Young said.
Investigators would not say how many deputies fired their guns but confirmed to the Deseret Morning News that multiple shots were fired. The man was hit once in his left arm, near his elbow.
The man was in surgery at a hospital in Delta but was expected to recover, police said late Saturday. No deputies were injured in the confrontation.
Deputies identified the wounded man as 23-year-old Christopher William Carbine of Kearns. Court records show Carbine is already faces criminal charges in West Jordan's 3rd District Court for possession of a dangerous weapon, a third-degree felony, and interfering with an arrest, a class B misdemeanor. He recently bailed out of jail after posting a $5,000 bond.
Also, a warrant was issued for his arrest out of American Fork's 4th District Court after he failed to pay a traffic fine.
At the scene where the chase ended, the Utah County Sheriff's Office was brought in to handle the crime-scene investigation.
Three deputies have been placed on administrative leave while Millard County conducts an internal investigation, which will then go to the county attorney to decide if their actions were justified.
"Our guys walked away, the bad guy didn't die, the dog didn't get hurt," Young said. "It's an unfortunate situation, but as these things go it turned out pretty good. Everyone goes home, including the bad guy."
This is the second officer-involved shooting in Utah this week.
On Monday, Ogden police officers shot and killed Jessie Turnbow, 29, in a confrontation near 35th Street and Jefferson Avenue. Police said Turnbow had an argument and left his home carrying a sawed-off shotgun. One eyewitness told the Deseret Morning News he heard Turnbow yell "shoot me" before he opened fire on officers.
Witnesses described a shootout between Turnbow and the three officers, who ultimately killed the man. The shooting is under review. Ogden police said Friday they expect to have the investigation wrapped up sometime this week.
E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com