A female assaulted three Deputies while being arrested and at the jail

By Travis Uresk

1/19/24

Vernal, Ut. (1/11/24) Deputy Fairey made a traffic stop on a vehicle in the area of 1200 South and 2500 West in Uintah County and asked Deputy Russell for assistance.

Deputy Russell arrived, spoke to the female, and asked for her name. The female said her name was Crystal Wood. When asked about the spelling, she told the Deputy she didn't know how to spell her name. Deputy Russell asked Crystal for her DOB, but she wouldn't provide him with one.

The Deputies were both under suspicion that Crystal was not being honest with her name or DOB. While asking Crystal about her being on probation, she got agitated and started yelling at Deputy Russell. She moved out of her seat and toward the open window, making the Deputy believe that she might get out of the vehicle toward him.

Deputy Russell stepped back and asked her if she wanted to go to jail for disorderly conduct. Crystal stood up from the backseat and climbed into the front passenger seat. Russell opened the front driver's door to remove Crystal from the vehicle, and she jumped in the backseat and slid between the passenger seat and the backseat.

Deputy Russell reached into the backseat to grab Crystal, and she threw her lit cigarette at him. The Deputy grabbed her with both hands to Crystal's right wrist to try and control her. As he grabbed her, she wrapped her arm around the headrest on the seat and would not let go. Crystal was wedged between the seats and wasn't moving.

At this point, Deputy Russell drew his taser and gave commands for Crystal to exit the vehicle, or she was going to be tased.

Deputy Fairey entered from the driver's door and grabbed Crystal's left arm, and they were able to remove Crystal from the vehicle. As her upper body freed from between the seats, she tried to bite Deputy Russell on the arm and hand.

Crystal was removed from the vehicle and taken to the ground, where she was placed in handcuffs.

When Crystal was in the patrol car, she continued to be disorderly and tried to kick out the window.

Deputy Fairey located the female's information and found that she was 39-year-old Crystal Marie Dawn Zelazny.

While Deputy Fairey was speaking with Deputy Russell about Crystal's information, she got agitated. She stuck her right leg out of the patrol vehicle and kicked Deputy Russell in his upper thigh on his right leg. The Deputies gained control of Crystal and secured her inside the patrol vehicle with the seat belt.

While conducting a records check on Crystal through dispatch, the Deputies were informed she had two active no-bail warrants out of 8th District Court Vernal.

Crystal was transported to the Uintah County Jail, and while en route, jail staff was informed that Crystal was non-compliant and was being combative.

At the jail, staff opened the patrol vehicle's door, and Crystal was still being combative. Jail staff escorted her into a cell, and she assaulted two of the jail staff members by kicking and scratching their arms hard enough to draw blood.

Crystal was booked into jail on her no-bail warrants and the new charges in the 8th District Court of Vernal.