SALT LAKE CITY — A federal grand jury voted to charge a Sandy woman with assaulting a federal officer on Wednesday, after she struck three occupied police vehicles.
Melissa Lynn Trotter, 24, assaulted multiple federal officers on Feb. 7, while U.S. Marshals and officers with Utah’s Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team attempted to arrest a fugitive, according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office District of Utah.
A police affidavit filed on Feb. 7 states the assault happened during the arrest of Charles Lee Petersen near 3148 W. 3500 South.
According to court documents, Petersen “had an outstanding federal warrant for alleged violations of supervised release.”
Leading up to the arrest, Trotter and Petersen visited the CVS, and Peterson walked into the store. During that time, Trotter got in the drivers seat of the vehicle and parked it, waiting for Petersen to get back in.
After Petersen got back in the car, deputies moved in to arrest him, and that’s when Trotter put the vehicle in reverse to attempt to escape. She struck three occupied police vehicles, as well as the CVS building, causing in excess of $5,000 in damage to the police vehicles.
Because the police cruisers were occupied when Trotter struck them, she is charged with aggravated assault for each of the vehicles she hit.
Trotter is charged with three counts of aggravated assault, a second-degree felony; one count of criminal mischief with a loss greater than $5,000, a second-degree felony; and one count of failure to stop or respond at command of police, a third-degree felony. She is being held without bail at the Salt Lake County jail.
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