LOGAN — A 53-year-old Layton man has admitted to stealing items from a Logan store that resulted in a multi-agency car chase and SWAT standoff last month. Robert Keith Bloomer confessed to shop lifting from the south Logan Walmart and then fleeing the scene prior to Logan City Police officers’ arrival.
Bloomer appeared Dec. 9 in Logan’s 1st District Court. He accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to theft, a second-degree felony; failing to stop at the command of law enforcement, a third-degree felony; along with possession of a controlled substance and retail theft, both class A misdemeanors, and driving with a measurable controlled substance, a class B misdemeanor. As part of the agreement, prosecutors dismissed 10 remaining counts.
According to prosecutors, multiple law enforcement agencies were called to the incident on the night of Nov. 9. Cache County Sheriff’s deputies quickly located Bloomer’s vehicle nearby and attempted a traffic stop. The driver briefly stopped in a nearby parking lot and released a female passenger before fleeing the area.
Bloomer tried to evade deputies, before crashing into multiple vehicles and causing property damage. To prevent any further harm to innocent citizens, deputies initiated a pursuit.
The chase quickly came to an end when Bloomer crashed into another vehicle at 1700 South SR-165, near Providence.
Deputies, officers and Utah Highway Patrol troopers immediately provided aid to those involved in the collisions and worked to apprehend Bloomer, who refused to exit the vehicle and claimed to have a firearm. Given the circumstances, the Cache/Logan SWAT team was called to assist.
SWAT negotiators made multiple attempts to have Bloomer surrender peacefully, but he remained non-compliant and armed. Less-lethal pepper ball rounds were eventually deployed, leading to his surrender.
Bloomer has a lengthy criminal history. Court records show multiple arrests for vehicle thefts, firearm possessions and other crimes in Farmington District Court. He remains in the Cache County Jail and could face up to 15 years in prison during sentencing Jan. 27.