A Fort Duchesne man was sentenced this week to 12 years in federal prison for shooting at federal agents during a 2016 high speed chase. 28-year-old Jarvis Charlie Cuch of Fort Duchesne entered a guilty plea to Assault on a Federal Officer last December in U.S. District Court. The charge stems from a high speed chase in which Cuch fired a gun out the window at a pursuing officer. The pursuit took place in the early morning hours of December 18th, 2016, after the BIA officer attempted to stop Cuch for speeding on 6500 East in Fort Duchesne. Cuch sped away and fired shots from a handgun. The pursuit continued around Fort Duchesne reaching speeds of 90 mph before heading east on Highway 40 towards Vernal. Uintah County deputies joined the pursuit as the vehicle reached speeds exceeding 100 mph as items were being thrown from the fleeing vehicle. Before reaching Vernal, a Vernal City Police Officer successfully deflated one of the vehicle’s tires by deploying tire spikes and Cuch eventually stopped on a dead end road at
700 South 500 East.
Cuch and two juveniles were taken into custody. At the time of his arrest, Cuch was listed as a fugitive with the U.S. Marshalls Service. Deseret News reports that after serving his prison time, Cuch will be required to complete 5 years of supervised release.
