A man arrested for DUI on Saturday in Duchesne County escalated the charges against him by claiming to have been exposed to Coronavirus and trying to infect officers by coughing on them. According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause filed in 8th District Court, 33-year-old Earl Brent Jordan was approached by a Sheriff’s deputy after calls came in about a reckless driver swerving all over the road. The officer located the vehicle driving below the speed limit when Jordan stopped in the middle of the road. The officer approached and observed a 12 pack of beer and an open container by the driver seat and noted the strong smell of alcohol coming off Jordan’s breath. A field sobriety test was administered and as a result Jordan was placed under arrest and transported to Duchesne County Jail. “While transporting Earl Jordan he was making threats towards me,” shares the arresting officer. “…When I got Earl Jordan into the jail he was saying that he has been around people who have been tested positive for Corona and he had the symptoms of Corona. He then started coughing on the [deputies] and I warned Earl Jordan multiple times that I would charge him with terroristic threats if he continued. Earl Jordan told me that now we all would have Corona and all of our families are going to die. [He} continued to get more verbally aggressive.” The officer then described that while administering the intoxilyzer test, Jordan would turn and blow in the officers faces. Jordan’s blood alcohol content was measured at 0.243. Jordan was arrested for the offenses of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, Threat of Terrorism, Willful Introduction of Communicable Disease, and Open Container/Drinking Alcohol in a Vehicle. The Affidavit also stated that Saturday’s DUI arrest occurred while on probation for prior convictions with alcohol. Also, due to Jordan’s coughing and blowing on officers, it was recommended that he not be released on bail out of concern that he may be intentionally trying to spread the Coronavirus. Jordan was scheduled for his initial appearance in 8th District Court this week.
