ST. GEORGE — After allegedly stabbing his girlfriend and carjacking two vehicles in separate states, a fleeing suspect was arrested following a pursuit through Southern Utah that ended without incident on Interstate 15 Friday evening.

Utah Highway Patrol troopers arrested Joseph Lee Haddick of Azusa, California, Friday after an alert from Nevada authorities led police on a pursuit that covered both sides of I-15 and ended at Exit 10 in St. George.

The incident began in California when Haddick allegedly stabbed his girlfriend and fled the area by carjacking a motorist in Southern California, Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Jacob Cox said.

The suspect continued to Mesquite, Nevada, where he ran out of gas and allegedly carjacked a second vehicle before heading north on Interstate 15.

Nevada police issued an “attempt to locate” bulletin on Haddick, Cox said, which notified Utah authorities that the suspect was headed north allegedly in a stolen vehicle.

“Authorities didn’t really tie the two incidences (sic) in California and Nevada together until later,” the trooper said.

A UHP trooper observed the car traveling north on I-15 approximately 20 miles into Utah and called in to verify it was in fact the stolen vehicle, Cox said. and it was confirmed.

A second trooper was called in and the pursuit was initiated when Haddick allegedly failed to pull over, and deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office were also called to assist.

At some point during the pursuit Haddick exited the northbound side of the interstate and went around to the southbound side where the pursuit continued. Law enforcement positioned on the southbound side deployed spike strips that punctured the fleeing vehicle’s tires, Cox said, which brought the pursuit to an end minutes later.

Haddick came to a stop at I-15 Exit 10 in Washington City after the tires shredded completely off the wheels of the vehicle he was driving. He surrendered to police there, Cox said, and was taken into custody without incident.

“It was a short pursuit after deputies successfully spiked the car’s tires,” Cox said.

Haddick was later transported and booked into Washington County’s Purgatory Correctional Facility, facing Utah charges of one second-degree felony count for possessing or receiving a stolen vehicle; one third-degree felony count of evading (attempting to flee or elude an officer by vehicle); one class B misdemeanor count of having a long gun in the vehicle; and driving on a suspended license, a traffic infraction.

Additionally, Haddick is being held on a warrant out of California. He remains in custody, according to Washington County Sheriff’s published booking records, as this report publishes.

The pursuit and ensuing investigation was coordinated by the Utah Highway Patrol with assistance from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

St. George News Reporter Joseph Witham contributed to this report.

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