EVANSTON — A man, whose video of his arrest last fall by officers from the Evanston Police Department (EPD) went viral, was recently found guilty by a jury on four of five misdemeanor charges and sentenced by Judge Michael Greer in Uinta County Circuit Court.

Garrett Hoyos, 37, of Saratoga Springs, Utah, was pulled over shortly after midnight on Oct. 25, 2024, by former EPD Officer Cody Saloga for exhibiting varying speeds on the highway and conducting a sudden lane change onto exit 5 from Interstate 80. 

Dash camera footage presented in court clearly showed Hoyos driving significantly lower than the posted speed limit, then suddenly increasing speed, eventually cutting off a semi-truck at the exit from the passing lane.

During the stop on Front Street, Saloga asked Hoyos to present his driver’s license, proof of insurance and registration but was repeatedly met with refusal and demands to know why he was pulled over.

Hoyos’ passenger, 57-year-old Dallas Ford, filmed the exchange between the men and Saloga. The video was posted to a “Cops Watcher 68” page on Facebook in January. As of press time, the video has received 906,000 views and more than 11,000 comments. 

“Why don’t you tell us what we did and your badge number?” Ford aggressively says multiple times in the video.

Saloga, who is now employed with the Rock Springs Police Department, tells the men his name, shows them his badge and explains that there is no number associated with it. Saloga continued to ask several times for the required documentation and the men become increasingly uncooperative and belligerent.

“I know my rights,” Hoyos told Saloga during the interaction, “I am familiar. I am an American.”

Saloga testified that during a typical traffic stop, his personal practice is to identify a vehicle’s driver before indicating a reason for the stop for safety reasons, such as the driver leaving the scene.

Saloga, who initiated the traffic stop alone, testified in court that he ended up calling for backup due to “too many unknowns” and “the passenger was causing issues.” 

EPD Officer Dustin Kennedy responded to assist just as Saloga informed Hoyos that he was under arrest.

During the escalation, Ford tells Hoyos to roll up his windows. Hoyos can be heard on the video saying “call 911!” multiple times. Ford tells the officers, “This is going viral ... you’re going to lose your f------  jobs!”

Saloga and Kennedy then forcibly removed Hoyos from the vehicle after a notable struggle due to Hoyos holding onto the steering wheel and Ford holding onto Hoyos. Both officers were trying to handcuff a still-resistant Hoyos once he was outside of the vehicle when Ford exited the car, an action that also required “face-down stabilization” by Saloga. 

“It was a very dangerous situation for both of us after the passenger got out of the vehicle,” Kennedy testified. Two more EPD officers responded to Saloga’s and Kennedy’s request for more assistance.

“It took three of us to get Mr. Hoyos into handcuffs,” Kennedy said. 

Once both men were taken into custody, Hoyos’ Tesla sedan was searched. A vehicle inventory uncovered both ecstasy and methamphetamine, the latter of which was identified as Ford’s.

Hoyos, who represented himself in court, stated that he thought this was a “landmark case. ...I believe this is a civil rights case.” He called himself a “traveler” and called his vehicle “my sanctuary on wheels.” He contended that it is his private property and that it was searched without a warrant. He also said that the drugs were “a sacred substance and stolen from me.”

During cross examination, he asked both Saloga and Kennedy if they believed in the Constitution and in the defense of it. He demanded Kennedy explain the meaning of the term “peace officer” after saying “all I’ve experienced is violence.”

In addition to citations for the two traffic violations of driving without insurance and an improper lane change, Hoyos was also charged with DUI (marijuana was discovered in his bloodwork), but the jury ultimately acquitted him of this charge, interference with a peace officer and possession of ecstasy. Ford was also charged with interference with a peace officer and possession of meth. 

Hoyos, who chose not to testify on his own behalf, maintained that there was no probable cause to be pulled over. During closing statements, Hoyos continued to contend that his 4th Amendment rights were violated, that he was a victim of police brutality and human trafficking after being taken to jail.

The night’s events, according to Hoyos, were “a direct violation of what our forefathers saw from 1776 and beyond.” He then read portions of the Declaration of Independence to the jury.

“I don’t stand to obstruct justice, but to uphold the Constitution,” Hoyos concluded.

After the six-member jury found him guilty, Greer ordered Hoyos to be remanded into custody to await sentencing. Hoyos told the judge, “I object to being sentenced at this time,” and added that he did not consent to being arrested.

Greer threatened Hoyos with the possibility of an additional charge of contempt of court.

“You’ve demonstrated you would like to have full control over what laws apply to you and what laws do not,” Greer told Hoyos. He noted Hoyos’ clear disrespect of the law and for law enforcement who were “simply doing their job.”

“It’s dark. He (Saloga) is alone. He didn’t know who he was dealing with,” Greer said. “You made a simple traffic stop a possibly very dangerous situation.”

Greer said that Hoyos’ “quite open and proud” use of illicit substances “is a complete disrespect for the law.” He also said that Hoyos has since failed to take responsibility for the events of that night and has shown little remorse.

Hoyos, who was facing up to 36 months behind bars, was sentenced to two 180-day sentences for the interference and possession charges, to run concurrently. Hoyos was also fined for lack of valid insurance and for the traffic violations. He has 30 days to appeal. 

Brady Pahl, a friend of Hoyos who attended the proceedings, told the Herald that Hoyos “desires to appeal to a federal Article 3 court.”

Ford, for his part, accepted a plea deal but failed to show up for sentencing, and there is currently a warrant out for his arrest.

The Herald reached out to the EPD for a statement, but they declined to comment.