UPDATED: Burglary suspect shot, wounded by officer during truck stop confrontation in Parowan

PAROWAN — A vehicle burglary suspect was shot and wounded by a police officer during a confrontation at a truck stop in Parowan Thursday.

Lt. Del Schlosser of the Iron County Sheriff’s Office said the incident occurred at the Travel America travel center at 1150 N. 100 West,  just off Interstate 15 Exit 78.

“At approximately 11:35 this morning, Cedar Communications received a phone call about a vehicle burglary here at the TA,” Schlosser told Cedar City News. “Multiple individuals were found entering multiple vehicles.”

“Officers arrived on scene and confronted them. An altercation occurred, and during that altercation shots were fired by one of the officers on scene.”

Schlosser said the two suspects involved in the confrontation were a man and a woman. The woman was injured in the shooting and was transported to Cedar City Hospital for injuries that were not believed to be life threatening. Her name has not been released as of Friday morning.

The second suspect, later identified as Jose Martin Flores, 34, of Las Vegas, was not injured and was taken into custody.

Flores was booked into the Iron County Jail on suspicion of two third-degree felony counts of vehicle burglary and one count of receiving or possessing a stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony.

A third suspect, a man who authorities say was involved in the vehicle burglaries, but not the confrontation that led to the shooting, reportedly fled the scene on foot and was at large for nearly six hours before being arrested in Parowan shortly before 6 p.m.

The man, later identified as Michael Salvador Torres, 24, also of Las Vegas, reportedly changed clothes during the time he was being sought for questioning.

Torres was booked into Iron County Jail on suspicion of of two third-degree felony counts of vehicle burglary and one count of receiving or possessing a stolen vehicle, a second-degree felony. Torress also faces a possible misdemeanor charge in connection with a theft between $500 and $1,500, according to the jail website.

Further information regarding the injured female suspect and her condition had not yet been made available as of Friday morning.

No officers were injured in the incident.

Schlosser said responding officers were from Parowan Police Department, Enoch Police Department and the Iron County Sheriff’s Office.

He said he was not yet able to disclose which agency’s officer fired shots, nor could he say how many shots were fired. Further information will be provided as it becomes available, he said.

As late as 4 p.m. Thursday, investigators from the Iron County Critical Incident Task Force were still at the scene collecting evidence, performing ballistics reconstruction and checking the burglarized vehicles.

Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Updated June 29, 7 a.m. to include the name and booking information for the second male suspect, in addition to other details.

Updated June 28, 8:30 p.m. to include name and jail booking information for one of the three suspects.

This is a developing story.

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