May 26, 2026
NEWS RELEASE
Two wanted suspects were arrested by Bonneville County Sheriff’s Deputies Sunday afternoon (May 24th) after a short foot pursuit through a parking lot. A Deputy initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle in the Albertson’s parking lot on 17th St. near Holmes Ave. around 3:40pm for multiple traffic violations. As soon as the vehicle stopped, a male who had been laying down in the back seat exited and fled on foot, discarding a fanny pack in the process. The Deputy recognized the male as 35-year-old Matthew Phillips and was aware he was wanted for multiple Felony warrants and had eluded Deputies in a vehicle earlier that day.
Phillips ran toward a nearby McDonalds ignoring verbal commands by the Deputy to stop. The Deputy successfully deployed a Taser, incapacitating Phillips and causing him to fall to the ground. Phillips was quickly secured by the Deputy who observed he was disoriented and suffered a cut above the eye from falling to the ground. An ambulance was called to the scene, and Phillips was ultimately transported to the hospital with a Deputy for treatment and a medical clearance for the jail.
Nearby Sheriff’s Deputies and Idaho Falls Police Officers arrived on scene and detained the male driver of the vehicle and a female passenger. The passenger was identified as 28-year-old Tamya Louise King and found to have active Felony Probation Warrants out of Madison County and Bonneville County. King was placed under arrest and transported to the Bonneville County Jail. King admitted to Deputies she had used illegal drugs earlier that day and when the Deputy pulled behind them Phillips made statements that he “couldn’t go back to jail” as he tried to hide in the back seat.
Deputies also retrieved the fanny pack discarded by Phillips as he was running from the vehicle. Multiple items of Drug Paraphernalia were discovered inside along with just over 2 grams of Methamphetamine. During a search of the vehicle Deputies located a small amount of suspected methamphetamine in the back seat where Phillips had been sitting.
After a medical clearance at the hospital Phillips was transported to the Bonneville County Jail. During the booking process Deputies retrieved a small baggie from Mr. Phillips pocket that contained just over 1 gram of Methamphetamine. Phillips was booked into jail for an active Bonneville County Warrant for Felony Eluding, Felony Warrants from the Idaho Department of Corrections and the Utah Board of Pardons, and new Felony charges for Possession of Methamphetamine and Destruction of Evidence. Phillips was also booked for Misdemeanor Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Resisting Arrest.
Deputies are continuing to investigate and further potential charges related to Mr. Phillips actions prior to this stop are pending.
