Rock Springs Rocket Miner
ROCK SPRINGS – The Rock Springs Police Department said that Josiah Griffith, the man who died following a pursuit with law enforcement, fatally shot himself.
RSPD officers responded to Fifth Avenue West around 4:10 p.m. March 29 to assist the Department of Criminal Investigation Southwest Enforcement Team, International Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, and the Wyoming Highway Patrol with a vehicle pursuit involving a male subject.
The DCI Southwest Enforcement Team was attempting to execute a search warrant for child exploitation when the driver, 24-year-old Josiah Griffith, proceeded to elude officers, according to a press release. Griffith continued traveling inbound on the Blairtown Connector Road turning south onto Fifth Avenue West. The pursuit ended after Griffith rolled his SUV down an embankment and came to a stop.
Law enforcement officers moved toward the vehicle after Griffith failed to comply with numerous commands to exit. Officers approached the vehicle and discovered Griffith was dead.
During the investigation, Rock Springs Police Department detectives determined that no gunshots were fired by any law enforcement agencies during this incident. Griffith’s death was determined to be a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.