VERNON RICHARD BIEBINGER

On February 26, 2016, an eight-person jury comprised of citizenry from Utah County, found Vernon 'Vinnie' Richard Biebinger guilty of five criminal charges: Possession of a Dangerous Weapon by a Restricted Person (2nd degree felony), Theft by Receiving Stolen Property (2nd degree felony), Failure to Respond to an Officer's Signal to Stop (3rd degree felony), Obstructing Justice (3rd degree felony), and Reckless Endangerment (Class A misdemeanor).

On March 11, 2014, a silver Chrysler Aspen SUV was stopped by police officers for failure to yield to a pedestrian on a bicycle at the intersection of 700 East 200 South in Pleasant Grove. Vernon Biebinger was the driver of the SUV which carried three additional passengers, including a little girl who celebrated her fourth birthday just three days prior. During the traffic stop, Pleasant Grove police officers asked Mr. Biebinger to get out of the car. Vinnie refused to step out. As an officer opened the driver's side door, Mr. Biebinger hit the gas and sped off with the unsuspecting passengers now captive in his SUV. With lights and sirens engaged, Pleasant Grove officers pursued the fleeing vehicle through approximately twelve blocks of residential neighborhoods. Despite the pleadings from his passengers to pull over and let them out, Mr. Biebinger drove in reckless disregard of anyone but himself because he was 'strapped' (in possession of a firearm) and was already a convicted felon. He ran a number of stop signs and intersections at high speeds, threatening the lives not only of residents of the neighborhoods and those captive in his vehicle, but also of all drivers that happened to be in the vicinity. The vehicular chase ended when Mr. Biebinger turned into a cul-de-sac and then into the back yard of a house where his escape was blocked. Mr. Biebinger then got out of the SUV and fled on foot. Once officers took Mr. Biebinger into custody, they found that he was in possession of two loaded firearms, a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber pistol and a Kimber .45 caliber Tactical Pro Semiautomatic handgun, the latter of which had been stolen three months earlier from a truck parked in an open garage in Bluffdale. Vernon Biebinger was arrested and booked into the county jail.

On May 3, 2016, Vernon Richard Biebinger was sentenced to a minimum of 1-15 years in the Utah State Prison.

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