Standoff with armed murder suspect closes Highway 191 for nearly four hours on Nov 3

by Bill Boyle
San Juan Record Editor
Highway 191 was closed for nearly four hours on Friday, November 3 because of a standoff between a murder suspect and local law enforcement agencies.
The standoff, at the top of Blue Hill about 10 miles south of Moab, ended with the arrest of the suspect soon after the arrival of a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team from Grand Junction, Colorado.
The SWAT team used “non-lethal chemical munitions” (essentially tear gas) to force the suspect out of the vehicle.
Jake Thomas Jackson, age 31 of Bountiful, Utah, is charged with two felony counts, including first degree murder, and four misdemeanors for the death of Zachary Todd Carson, age 50.
Carson was gunned down early in the morning of November 3 in a parking lot in Bountiful.
Several hours later, local law enforcement officials were informed that Jackson was headed toward southeastern Utah. Cell phone data was used to locate the vehicle.
After Jackson traveled through Moab, law enforcement officials set up a barricade to spike the tires on his car at the bottom of Blue Hill. Afterwards, he drove approximately two miles before pulling over on the side of Highway 191 and refusing to leave the vehicle.
He was considered armed and dangerous.
That set up a standoff that lasted more than three hours starting mid-morning and concluding in the early afternoon..
A wide variety of agencies were involved in the incident, including the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department, Utah Department of Public Safety, Grand County Sheriff’s Department, Moab Police Department, and eventually the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department.
Traffic was blocked in both directions during the standoff in an area of the busy highway that has few alternatives.
Hundreds of travelers were impacted by the standoff.
Traffic headed north and westbound was rerouted back to Blanding through Hanksville, while eastbound traffic was rerouted through La Sal and Bedrock to Grand Junction.
Several motorists were rerouted by their Smart phones through rugged mountainous areas, including Geyser Pass.
Law enforcement officials are pleased that the incident ended without further injury or loss of life.