The man attempted to flee from the Emery County Sheriff’s Office, pictured above.
A registered sex offender in Emery County tried to flee authorities on Monday when an attempt was made to put him under arrest. The man reportedly had to be tackled by numerous officers as he tried to run from the Emery County Sheriff’s Office.
Brandon Albert Larson, 31, of Castle Dale, was arrested on Monday. He was formally charged in the 7th District Court on Tuesday with 60 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second degree felony, as well as three counts of assault by a prisoner, escape and evidence tampering, all third-degree felonies. Larson was also charged with interfering with an arresting officer, drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, all class B misdemeanors.
According to court documents, an investigation involving Larson began in June when the Utah Attorney General’s Office and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified detectives with the Emery County Sheriff’s Office of possible child pornography being uploaded to an area cellphone. The investigation led to detectives tracing that phone and an additional phone back to Larson.
On one of the phones, authorities found 49 photos and 11 videos of child pornography. Reportedly, some of the victims were as young as three years old.
Larson is a registered sex offender and is listed on the Utah registry for being convicted of sexual abuse of a child and attempted sexual abuse of a child. The charges stem from 2009 in the 3rd District Court. He was subsequently sentenced in 2010 to serve one term of 1-15 years at the Utah State Prison.
The incident occurred Monday began when Larson visited the Emery County Sheriff’s Office to modify his sex offender registration form. A detective, who is investigating the child pornography allegations, asked to speak with Larson. During the meeting, the detective, along with an FBI agent and a Bureau of Land Management ranger, told Larson that he was under arrest. Larson was also informed that they had a warrant to search the phone, which he was holding at the time.
“Brandon seemed calm but did not want to give his cellphone up,” the affidavit reads. “I continued to talk to Brandon longer, explaining to him he was under arrest and he would be booked on charges. Brandon then bolted out of his chair.”
According to reports, Larson ran toward the entrance of the sheriff’s office. He was tackled just outside of the doors. “Brandon was pursued by numerous office personnel who assisted in controlling Brandon,” it was written in the affidavit. “Brandon was lying on his stomach with his arms under his chest. Brandon continued to resist while holding his cellphone in his hand attempting to break the phone.”
Reports also indicate that it took six officers to prevent the escape. In the process, three officers were assaulted.
Larson was ultimately taken into custody. His phone and residence were then searched, the affidavit said.