SALT LAKE CITY — A man who had absconded from parole was shot and killed by members of the U.S. Marshals VFAST team on Thursday.
Friday, the U.S. Marshals Office identified the man as Damien Evans, 38, of West Valley City.
About 5:15 p.m. Thursday, members of the Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team were pursuing what they described as a “violent parole fugitive wanted by the Utah Department of Corrections (and) Adult Probation and Parole” in the area of 1000 South and Main Street, according to a prepared statement.
After locating Evans, he refused commands to stop, according to the statement.
“Officers began to pursue in vehicles and on foot and deployed the use of a K-9 to stop the suspect. As officers closed in, the subject pulled a firearm, and officers returned fire and hit the suspect,” the Marshals Service said in the statement.
The prepared statement does not say specifically whether Evans fired his weapon.
Witnesses told reporters they heard “a lot of shots.”
According to court records, Evans was convicted of possession of a forgery device and drug possession in 2018 and sentenced to up to five years in the Utah State Prison. In 2016 he was convicted of attempted theft by receiving stolen property and sentenced to up to five years in prison, court records state.
Evans’ criminal history includes convictions on other drug-related crimes dating back to 2003, according to court records. Most recently, he was charged in Salt Lake Justice Court with possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor, on May 16. A warrant was issued for his arrest on June 26 when he failed to show up for court, court records state.
The VFAST team is comprised of officers from 19 state and local agencies.