A Tooele man is facing a felony vehicle theft charge after he was arrested in connection with a hit-and-run accident in October.
Viliami Unga Fonua, 24, is charged with second-degree felony receipt or transfer of a stolen vehicle and misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of drugs, possession of burglary tools or possession of drug paraphernalia.
A Tooele County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to the area of SR-36 by mile marker 63 for the crash of a stolen vehicle where the suspect fled, according to a probable cause statement. Dispatch alerted the deputy that the suspect, later identified as Fonua, was heading northbound on a skateboard.
The deputy caught up to Fonua about a mile later, skateboarding northbound, and stopped him, the statement said. When the deputy went to frisk him, Fonua admitted to having drug paraphernalia on him and the deputy discovered drug pipes, empty plastic bags and two sets of keys.
When the deputy transported Fonua to the scene of the car accident, he was positively identified as the suspect by the victims in the accident, according to the probable cause statement. Fonua eventually admitted to driving the stolen car involved in the accident; one of the set of keys he had in his possession started the stolen vehicle.
Fonua said he was driving alongside another vehicle and thought it was too close to him, causing him to swerve into the middle lane of the state route, the statement said. He overcorrected and slammed into the victims’ truck, Fonua said.
In his discussion with the deputy, Fonua also admitted to smoking marijuana the day before the accident and smoking methamphetamine several hours before the accident, charging documents said.
After a checkup at the hospital following the traffic accident, Fonua was transported to the Tooele County Detention Center, where corrections staff found three checks in his wallet that had other people’s names on them.
Fonua is scheduled to make his initial appearance in 3rd District Court on Nov. 15 at 9 a.m. before Judge Robert Adkins.