EVANSTON — A former Kemmerer man is in custody after a chase and overnight manhunt that began in Lincoln County the afternoon of Thursday, July 25, and came to an end after he was spotted and arrested in Evanston.

Adam Rily, 29, is facing seven charges that were filed Wednesday in Lincoln County Circuit Court. Those charges include two counds of aggravated assault and battery, aggravated fleeing and eluding, driving under the influence of a controlled substance and felony theft, along with misdemeanor counts of interference with a peace officer and reckless driving.

Uinta County Attorney Loretta Howieson-Kallas said Wednesday that while Lincoln County requested to deal with Rily’s alleged crimes first, her office plans to file charges next week that may include felony property destruction, eluding and DUI.

According to a press release issued by the Uinta County Sheriff’s Office on Monday, deputies were notified of a chase in progress involving the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in pursuit of a stolen truck on Thursday afternoon. Officers from the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Uinta County Sheriff’s Office and Evanston Police Department responded to assist. Lincoln County identified the suspect as Rily, who had outstanding warrants for his arrest. Uinta County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Brooke Hale told the Gazette that Rily was wanted in Lincoln County for unlawful contact and probation revocation. She said he was also wanted for a non-extraditable warrant out of North Dakota for parole violation. He was on parole there for possessing amphetamine.

Lincoln County Attorney Spencer Allred told the Gazette Wednesday that Rily had broken down in Lincoln County between Kemmerer and Evanston in an area where there is no cellphone service. A couple drove past Rily, Allred said, but didn’t have the capacity to stop and help, so they contacted the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to see if they could send someone to help out.

In the meantime, Allred said, “A gentleman pulled up and was trying to help Mr. Rily, when one of our deputies pulled up to do a motorist assist.”

Rily allegedly gave the deputy a false name, and while the deputy ran the name, he also ran the plates on the broken-down vehicle. The plates came back with Rily’s name and the deputy was notified that Rily had an active arrest warrant in Lincoln County.

“Rily forced his way into the good Samaritan’s vehicle,” Allred said, “backed up into the deputy’s vehicle, then left in the vehicle at a high rate of speed,” adding that there was little to no damage to the deputy’s vehicle.

The pursuit, according to the Uinta County press release, continued to the Haystack Mine area, located off Wyoming Highway 189, and then off road. Pursuing and backup officers responded to the possible outlet areas, which included Divide Road, the Haul Road, County Road 103, County Road 108 and Painter Road. 

The pickup the suspect was driving became undrivable in an off-road area near Elephant’s Head, and when officers approached the vehicle, Rily was nowhere to be found.

“The suspect had not been seen on foot by any of the responding officers,” the press release states. “The Utah Highway Patrol assisted by sending a helicopter to search the area until dark,” with no success.

The following day, a citizen recognized Rily as he entered the Maverik on County Road in Evanston and notified authorities. An Evanston police officer took Rily into custody shortly after.

Hale said Rily had formerly lived in Kemmerer but told investigators during an interview that he had been living homeless in Chico, California, for some time recently.

Allred said Howieson-Kallas agreed to defer charges due to the severity of the alleged offenses that occurred in Lincoln County.

“It seemed to me that we had the more serious charges, so we requested to handle those first here in Lincoln County,” Allred said.