A fugitive leads law enforcement on a chase South of four corners in Randlett
- Travis Uresk
- Dec 11, 2024
- 2 min read
By Travis Uresk
12/11/24
| Uintah County | December 10th, 2024 |
At approximately 3:30 p.m., Task Force Agent Watkins, who was assigned to the Uintah Ouray Safe Trails Task Force (FBI), observed a vehicle traveling South on 7500 East.
T.F.O. Simper recognized the vehicle belonging to 40-year-old Franklin Eli Burson, who was wanted by Adult Probation and Parole (AP&P) on a Board of Pardons arrest warrant. His wife was suspected of being with him; she also had felony warrants.
Agent Watkins caught up to the vehicle as it turned from 7500 East, taking the road going to Myton. The agent waited for additional Task Force and FBI agents to assist with the traffic stop.
The vehicle pulled to the left side of the road in a pull-off, and Agent Watkins activated his emergency lights. The driver made a U-turn and went around the agent to evade the traffic stop.
The agent recognized the driver as Franklin Burson from a photo, and it appeared to be a female inside the vehicle believed to be his wife, who he knew had a felony warrant for her arrest.
Franklin continued back toward 7500 East recklessly, losing tires tied to the vehicle's roof. Agent Watkins was behind them, with lights and sirens activated as the vehicle entered 7500 East from the old Myton road in Uintah County and continued northbound on 7500 East.
By the Winn residence, South of the Four Corners intersection, Franklin turned on the canal road, traveling West. Franklin continued to take evasive action to avoid apprehension.
The vehicle crashed through a fence and continued for some distance before coming to a stop at a locked gate.
Franklin was taken into custody, as well as his wife.
Franklin gave up a small container that had a white substance inside and stated it was meth. A search of the vehicle revealed an additional pipe and scales.
When law enforcement asked Franklin about intentionally running from the traffic stop, he stated he didn’t want to go back to prison.
At the jail, Agent Watkins spoke with Franklin, where Franklin admitted to smoking out of the pipe found with the scales. When asked what he uses the scale for, Franklin claimed he weighs his drugs because he doesn't want to get ripped off.
Franklin also made a disturbing comment to the agent, something to the effect, "If my wife wasn't with me, I would have made all of you kill me because I don't want to go back to prison."
The agent did a criminal history check on Franklin and found he had prior drug convictions within the past 10 years. The Board of Pardons warrant that was issued on 01/31/2024 was for poss/use of controlled substance-cautions weapons, assault, and drugs.
Agent Watkins stated that Franklin Burson demonstrated a disregard for safety because of the way he was driving, along with the comment about making us kill him as a danger to officers.
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