Two fugitives from Oregon were taken into custody near Echo on Sunday after a standoff with Summit County deputies.
Roy Scott Fritts, 33, a parole fugitive and attempted homicide suspect, and his wife, Jessica Lorraine Fritts, 35, led police on a chase from Sweetwater County, Wyoming to Echo.
According to Wyoming authorities, the two suspects were hitch hiking when they were picked up by a male driving a van. Reportedly, the pair shot the driver several times before fleeing westbound on Interstate 80 in his van. Wyoming Highway patrol and Uinta County deputies pursued the van along I-80 into Summit County.
The driver of the van was reported to be in stable condition as of Monday morning.
According to Summit County Detective Sergeant Ron Bridge, Summit County deputies picked up pursuit of the vehicle and successfully deployed tire deflation devices near the I-80/I-84 junction.
The suspects abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot into the town of Echo where they carjacked Echo resident Tim Mertens at gunpoint.
“I must have been daydreaming because all of a sudden there was a man running at me up the road with a gun pointed at me yelling ‘get out of the car,” said Mertens, who was driving from his house to the Weber River to check the conditions for his river rafting company. “He was almost on top of me before I realized what was going on.”
Mertens said he got out of the car in one motion and the suspect was already in his seat before he realized his dog, Emmy, was still in the backseat.
“I thought, ‘should I take her with me?’ But thought’ probably not’ and just left. She is usually very protective of the car but didn’t come unglued,” said Mertens. “I kept walking towards the back of the car waiting to hear a shot.”
As soon as he got around the car, Mertens said he saw police coming over the hill and started to run, yelling that the man had a gun.
“The police were coming with their rifles pulled, and I looked behind me and realized the man was running in the same direction as me. He went through a fence and yelled for his wife to follow,” added Mertens.
According to Bridge, the suspects exited Mertens’ vehicle, which has a manual transmission, because they didn’t know how to drive it.
The suspects tried to enter a house before fleeing into a field. Jessica Fritts was taken into custody a short time later while Roy Fritts continued to run. Roy Fritts engaged deputies in a brief standoff but was eventually taken into custody. No shots were fired during the incident, according to Bridge.
“I am glad I never had time to think about what was happening,” said Mertens. “I got back in my car, checked on Emmy and then drove to the river. When I was coming back I saw they had the man captured on the frontage road.”
According to a press release from the Summit County Sheriff’s office, Roy Fritts is wanted by Oregon officials for absconding from parole. According to Oregon and Nebraska sources, Fritts was convicted in 2001 of two counts of aggravated attempted murder and two counts of using a weapon to commit a felony. Fritts shot at officers during a high speed chase in Oregon and is wanted in Nebraska where he is suspected of vehicle theft and felony flight.
On Monday, Roy and Jessica Fritts were being held in the Summit County Jail without bail for aggravated robbery, possession of a stolen vehicle, aggravated burglary, carrying a concealed weapon, and eluding police. Roy is also being charged with possessing a dangerous weapon. They may face additional charges in Wyoming including attempted homicide.