Hospitalized-suspect slips free of handcuffs, leads police on foot chase through multiple homes in Ogden

OGDEN, Utah (ABC4) — One man is behind bars after leading police on a chase through multiple backyards after escaping custody Saturday.

Jose Angel Martinez Huerta, 25, was booked on two felonies counts of escape and burglary alongside of several misdemeanor charges including failure to stop for law enforcement and interfering with a peace officer.

On Sept. 20, at about 2 p.m., officers say they responded to the Newgate Mall in Ogden after Weber Dispatch heard two people arguing on an open call. Upon arrival, Martinez-Huerta began running away from the officers.

Charging documents show Martinez-Huerta was arrested and handcuffed inside the mall. Due to a preexisting heart condition, paramedics arrived on scene and transported him to the Ogden Regional Medical Center.

Police say that as the arresting officer left the patient room to bring around his patrol vehicle, Martinez-Huerta reportedly “managed to slip his handcuffs” and was fled the property on foot.

The officer saw the suspect running from the hospital and began chasing him. He then allegedly jumped over a fence into the backyard of a residence near 5400 South and 150 East, temporarily losing visual contact with the pursuing officer, charging documents show.

Martinez-Huerta was relocated on the same block and chased him into another backyard, police say. By this point in the pursuit, officers from multiple agencies had arrived and began establishing a perimeter around the block.

The suspect then allegedly jumped over another fence, fleeing the officers. Shortly after, residents from a nearby home advised police that someone had entered their residence through their bathroom window. According to court documents, the suspect was found inside the home hiding in a basement storage room wearing a grey t-shirt he had not been wearing before.

Martinez-Huerta is being held without bail in the Weber County Jail.