Escaped Convict Investigation Over

GREEN RIVER - It's time to get back to work.  Sweetwater County Sherriff Rich Haskell said Tuesday (10/9/07) that the Deputy Sherriff who shot escaped killer Danny Gallegos has been returned to duty.  Haskell said his office has completed its investigation into the shooting, and the actions of Corporal Mike Picerno have been ruled completely justified.  After being on the run for six days, convicted killers Juan Carlos Diaz-Arevalo and Danny Gallegos used duct tape to tie up Bill Johnson at knifepoint in his summer home just southwest of Mila.  The two escaped from the Daggett County Jail in Manila, UT the end of September.  The convicts stole the 79-year-old retired Salt Lake City police officer's 1998 Ford Explorer and three guns.  About an hour later, Johnson freed his hands, hobbled outside, and flagged down a couple driving by.  That couple called 911 to report the incident.  The Uinta County Sherriff's Office in Evanston then broadcast a description of the stolen SUV and its occupants.  Less than ight minutes later, Deputy Sherriff Cody Ruiz of Sweetwater County Sherriff's Office spotted the vehicle in Green River.  He called for backup and started to shadow the Explorer, which pulled into the parking lot of the Pizza Hut on Flaming Gorge Way.  As officers closed in, the criminals drove away, heading eastbound on I-80, leading authorities on a high-speed chase in excess of 100 mph.  They were pursued by county deputies, Green River Police Officers, and troopers of the Wyoming Highway Patrol.  About ten miles, east, one state trooper got ahead of the pursuit on I-80 near the College Drive interchange and successfully deployed road spikes, forcing the fugitives to stop just before the interchange, with Corporal Picerno close behind.  Both Diaz-Arevalo and Gallegos exited the SUV armed, Diaz Arevalo with a .38 handgun and Gallegos with a .22 rifle.  Neither man dropped his gun as instructed, and Gallegos started to turn with rifle in hand.  Picerno shot him once in the pelvic area with a department-issue M14 rifle.  He dropped to the ground immediately, Diaz-Arevalo was captured shortly after, following a foot pursuit.  Picerno's shot was the only one fired during the incident.  Gallegos is in critical, but stable condition at a Salt Lake City hospital, where he was life-flighted early the next morning.  Sherriff Haskell praised the actions of his deputies and the other officers involved in the capture.