An Ammon man is in jail after police say he robbed a gas station employee with a hatchet, then led officers on a vehicle chase through neighborhoods.
About 10:40 p.m. Tuesday, Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to an armed robbery call at the Legends Gas Station, at the intersection of Ammon Rd. and 17th Street.
An employee reported a man with his face covered entered the store, brandishing a hatchet, and demanding money. The clerk gave the man an undisclosed amount of money and the suspect fled the store.
The employee was not harmed and no other customers were in the store at the time, according to police.
Two deputies were in the area at the time and one spotted the suspect’s vehicle leaving the scene, heading south on Ammon Road, with its headlights off.
The deputies tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver sped to a side street and a cul-de-sac, where the suspect drove across yards and into the front end of the deputies’ patrol car while trying to escape, according to a news release.
Deputies continued pursuing the vehicle. The driver eventually lost control and crashed on a gravel road.
Deputies took the driver into custody. He was identified as Jacob M. Martin, 24, of Ammon. He was alone in the vehicle at the time.
Martin was taken by ambulance to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, where he was treated for minor injuries and released to the deputies’ custody.
He was booked into the Bonneville County Jail for robbery and eluding officers, both felonies.
No other people were injured during the pursuit.
Along with damage to the patrol car, investigators said there was minor damage to two residents’ yards and landscaping, caused during the course of the pursuit.
