PAYSON — After two men escaped a sheriff’s deputy on a 4-wheeler during an illegal joyride in late July, it may have looked like a clean getaway.
Perhaps it was a rude awakening when a two-month investigation ended recently with charges against a man and his girlfriend.
Utah County sheriff’s deputy Allyson Monsen said it all began on July 25 as she patrolled and assisted Payson police on another matter.
On 200 West near 250 North, Monsen said she spotted two men riding a 4-wheeler, which was illegal within Payson city limits.
According to Monsen, the two drove erratically in the dark, sometimes without lights as they careened over sidewalks and onto lawns.
“I tried to pull them over, and they didn’t stop and took off,” Monsen told KSL-TV.
Monsen said one of the men was wearing a “creepy” clown mask — something that proved to be a valuable clue when the man discarded it onto the ground.
“Somebody is going to know who is driving a 4-wheeler around in this town wearing a scary clown mask,” Monsen recalled thinking. “That mask is very distinct and very unique.”
Monsen passed the mask along to her co-workers at the sheriff’s office, and they posted it to social media.
The tips began to flow in, including about a sighting at a local gas station.
Monsen said she was able to gather surveillance images there — including of a man who wore the mask inside.
“One of those tips named a male specifically as (27-year-old) Delfino Vazquez (Varela),” the deputy explained.
She said the leads turned into a lengthy investigation into who fled on a 4-wheeler that night in late July.
“Over the course of two months, I just kind of was steadily working on it, would find out a little bit more each week,” Monsen said. “Based off of lots of hours of investigating and investigative techniques, I found communications between my suspect and his girlfriend where he admits to getting on a high-speed chase on a 4-wheeler in Payson.”
Monsen said Vazquez Varela was booked for investigation of a slew of potential charges and infractions — including felony failure to stop at the command of police and obstruction of justice. He was also charged in connection with an earlier arrest in which the 4-wheeler was determined to have been stolen.
“It had been repainted twice,” Monsen said.
Vazquez Varela has since pleaded guilty to charges of third-degree felony obstruction of justice and failure to stop at the command of police in Monsen’s case and to third-degree felony theft and possession of a controlled substance in the prior case.
Monsen said Vazquez Varela’s girlfriend — 33-year-old Tonya Hood Patino— lied to protect him and was booked on suspicion of felony obstruction. She was charged on Sept. 30 with third-degree felony obstruction of justice.
Monsen said she was grateful she cracked the case and wouldn’t have been able to do it without the public’s help.
“If we wouldn’t have had public tips, it would never have been solved,” she said.
The deputy said if Vazquez had stopped that night, it’s very possible he would have escaped with a simple warning.
“Tell the truth,” Monsen cautioned. “If the cops go to pull you over, just pull over.”
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