Man who tried to disarm officer gets prison time

Man who tried to disarm officer gets prison time

(Naples Police Department)


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VERNAL — An Oregon man who tried to disarm a Utah police officer inside a Uintah County hospital, causing the officer's gun to discharge inside an exam room, has been ordered to serve up to 20 years in prison.

James Robert Olson was sentenced Tuesday in 8th District Court to serve up to 15 years in prison for assault on a police officer, a second-degree felony. Judge Clark McClellan also imposed concurrent sentences of up to five years in prison for Olson's guilty pleas to charges of escape from official custody and possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, both third-degree felonies.

Olson, 31, was also ordered to serve up to five years in prison for three counts of criminal mischief and one count of joyriding, also third-degree felonies. The sentences in the assault case and the criminal mischief cases will be served consecutive to each other, court records show.

In April 2014, Olson caused thousands of dollars in damage when he drove a pickup truck through chain-link fences at one business in Vernal and two others in Naples, according to charging documents.

Police were trying to stop Olson when he climbed inside a crane truck parked outside of one of the businesses. An officer used a Taser on Olson, but it had no effect, police said.

Olson was eventually subdued and taken to Ashley Regional Medical Center because it appeared he was high on meth, Naples Police Chief Mark Watkins said.

While Olson was at the hospital, he told the officer guarding him that he needed to use the bathroom. When the officer removed Olson's handcuffs, Olson punched the officer several times and then tried to take his gun, the charges state.

James Robert Olson. Photo: Uintah County Jail
James Robert Olson. Photo: Uintah County Jail

The officer's gun discharged once during the struggle for control and the bullet struck the cement floor. The officer suffered a shrapnel injury to his thumb, as well as "minor abrasions and lacerations" to his arms, face and fingers.

Olson was on parole at the time of the incident after his November 2013 release from prison in Oregon, where he served nine months for eluding police and possession of meth, according to the Oregon Department of Corrections.

Uintah County prosecutor Mike Drechsel said Olson will serve his prison sentence in Utah first before being returned to Oregon to deal with his parole violations. The final amount of restitution Olson owes the businesses he damaged is still being calculated, the prosecutor said.

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