On road, off road, on foot

Following a chase in vehicles and on foot the afternoon of November 10, a Saratoga man is facing multiple charges, including two felonies. The charges were so numerous, in fact, they required seven feet of paper to print the citations.

Aiden Swanson is facing charges including felony possession of methamphetamine, convicted felon in possession of a firearm and nine misdemeanors including littering. The chase, which began in Saratoga, went out onto county roads and through private property as well as Bureau of Land Management and United States Forest Service lands according to court documents.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, the chase began when Sergeant Christopher Fischer—a deputy with the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office—was parked near Swanson’s house. Swanson, according to the affidavit, had a warrant out for his arrest following a domestic assault in Saratoga.

“Earlier in the same day, I had walked up to the front door of the house and there was a white Ford in front of the house with no registration on the vehicle,” wrote Fischer in the document. “I had been informed in previous cases that this was Aiden’s vehicle and home.”

While Fischer was parked, a truck matching the description of Swanson’s vehicle passed by the sheriff deputy. Fischer followed the vehicle, which didn’t have registration, when it ran a stop sign as it turned on to Bridge Avenue before accelerating “as if he was trying to get away from me.”

The vehicle chase began as Swanson continued west onto County Road 500. According to court documents, the vehicle moved from shoulder to shoulder to avoid the large pot holes as it sped down the county road. As Fischer continued the pursuit of Swason’s vehicle, the latter turned off County Road 500 and down a private driveway belonging to Jack Creek Land and Cattle Company at speeds of 65 miles per hour.

The pursuit continued through both private land and BLM. In the process, according to the affidavit, “Aiden would lose lots of stuff from the bed of his truck to include a red gas can and his tailgate from the truck.” The chase then went off-road as Swanson left the road and drove through sagebrush before doubling back and ending up on the driveway for Olson Ranch Inc. and eventually County Road 408.

The chase returned to County Road 500 with Swanson heading west, again, at speeds of 77 miles per hour. He eventually turned onto Forest Road 452 and headed towards the Medicine Bow National Forest.

“While traveling up the hill to the tree line it appeared that Aiden’s truck was only two-wheel drive,” wrote Fischer in the affidavit. “Aiden’s vehicle struggled to get up the hill and Aiden flipped me off with his middle finger while driving.”

When Swanson made it to the top of the hill, he reduced his speed due to approximately three inches of snow. While still driving too fast for conditions, according to the affidavit, Swanson’s truck rolled approximately 7 miles from County Road 500.

“I observed Aiden Swanson, who I recognized from pictures I had looked at, get out of his truck and run away down the road and up a snowy hill," wrote Fischer. “I did not have cover at this time and I could see that Aiden was leaving fresh tracks in the snow and had a brown dog with him that was at his home earlier that same day.”

Fischer, according to the affidavit, yelled at Swanson to stop running. The deputy then turned his attention to the passenger of the vehicle—who he had seen in the truck during the pursuit—and instructed them to exit. The passenger, it was later discovered, had a protection order against Swanson. After reading her Miranda Rights, the passenger confirmed Swanson was the driver of the vehicle and that she had used methamphetamine earlier that day.

With the aid of Officer Casey Lehr of the Saratoga Police Department, Fischer searched Swanson’s vehicle while Saratoga Lieutenant John Moore and Sergeant Patrick Patterson with the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office used drones to search for Swanson.

According to the affidavit, Lehr found a meth pipe, meth in a baggy which weighed a little over five grams, an open container of Coors Lite and a rifle. The passenger told law enforcement that the meth and paraphernalia belonged to Swanson, as did the rifle.

Swanson was later located a mile from his vehicle along with his dog and was taken into custody by both the Saratoga Police Department and the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the Carbon County Sheriff’s Arrest Record, Swanson is facing charges of reckless driving, fleeing or attempting to elude police, littering, violation of a temporary protection order, driving while license canceled, suspended or revoked, no auto insurance, no vehicle registration, felony possession of a controlled substance and convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Swanson has a trial set for February 2025. He is innocent until proven guilty.