CEDAR CITY — A 23-year-old Cedar City man has been accused of raping an 18-year-old woman.

According to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, during the early morning hours of April 3, Kyle Richard Vorkink was reportedly at a friend’s residence in Cedar City when he allegedly began kissing his friend’s 18-year-old cousin, who was visiting the home.

“When she no longer wanted to kiss him she turned her head refusing to continue,” the statement reads. “The more she resisted the more aggressive Kyle became.”

The woman later reported to Cedar City Police that Vorkink had raped her.

Vorkink was subsequently interviewed at the Cedar City Police station Aug. 22, four months after the alleged incident, during which time he waived his rights and was told he was not in custody.

Although he reportedly told police at first he had no memory of the incident due to his intoxication level at the time, Vorkink reportedly later nodded in affirmation when investigators asked if he had committed the alleged actions.

A few days later, after the Iron County Attorney’s Office reviewed the case, police officers located and arrested Vorkink. He was taken into custody and booked into Iron County Jail on suspicion of rape, a first-degree felony.

Vorkink made his initial court appearance Thursday afternoon before Judge Michael Bell, who set a roll call hearing for Tuesday.

Vorkink has not yet posted bail and remains incarcerated at the time of this report.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A man wanted out of Mesquite, Nevada for a first-degree felony sex crime against a child was arrested by Washington City Police officers Friday.

Kalan Drake was arrested early Friday morning on a felony warrant out of Mesquite for an alleged sexual assault of a minor under the age of 14, which is a class A felony in Nevada, Mesquite Police Sgt. Wyatt Oliver said.

A class A felony in Nevada is the equivalent of a first-degree felony in Utah.

The incident began after the Washington City Police Department received a call from a Mesquite Police detective advising they had information that Drake was living in the Washington City area, Washington City Police Lt. Kory Klotz said.

“The detective called and told us they had a warrant for this guy and asked us to pick him up if we can,” Klotz said.

On Friday, a patrol officer spotted a vehicle driven by a man that fit Drake’s description and pulled the vehicle over.

After speaking with the driver, the officer confirmed it to be Drake. The suspect was taken into custody and subsequently transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility where he is being held on a $150,000 bond.

“A first-degree felony warrant is pretty serious,” Klotz said, “So our night officers were on the lookout for this guy and were able to get him into custody.”

Drake will remain in custody until arrangements can be made to have him extradited back to Nevada to face the charges.

The punishment for a class A felony sexual assault crime in Nevada can range from five years to life in prison, depending on the severity of the assault and the age of the defendant.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — An Ivins woman is facing multiple felonies after authorities say she entered a police station with heroin in her pocket and a subsequent search of her home yielded additional illicit substances.

Kassandra Dittmer, 31, arrived at the police station in Santa Clara Tuesday to speak with officers about a previous incident and obtain a copy of a report, completely unaware that police had a search warrant for her home and her person, Santa Clara-Ivins Police Sgt. Jaron Studley said.

“We had been working on that residence for months and had finally gotten the search warrants when, out of the blue, she walked into the police station to talk about a completely unrelated issue,” Studley said.

When police told Dittmer they had the search warrant and that she was being detained, Studley said she began yelling and screaming. As she was being searched, he said Dittmer “blurted out she had heroin in her pocket,” which officers found along with syringes and other paraphernalia.

Studley said she resisted officers a number of times before she was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane for the initial drug and paraphernalia offenses.

Meanwhile, several officers executed the search warrant on Dittmer’s residence in Ivins. At the time, two men were inside the home, one who said he lived there and another who said he “stays at the residence from time to time,” investigators wrote in the probable cause statement filed in support of Dittmer’s arrest.

While searching Dittmer’s bedroom, officers allegedly found pills that were determined to be controlled substances but were not in a prescription bottle, as well as a safe containing what appeared to be heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana, along with scales and empty plastic baggies.

Officers then entered the bedroom of one of the men, who Studley said was lying on top of a safe inside the room. He was ordered out of the room, and a search of the safe allegedly yielded heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana.

The man whose room was being searched was outside being treated by paramedics that responded after he complained of chest pains and shortness of breath, and he was subsequently transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center for evaluation and treatment. Charges against the man are pending, Studley said.

In addition to the charges on which Dittmer was initially booked into jail, charges submitted to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review subsequent to the search of the residence include several felony counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

She also faces misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of paraphernalia, interfering with an arresting officer, failing to keep a controlled substance in its original container and public nuisance.

Studley said the nuisance charge was added due to Dittmer being aware that illicit drugs found in the residence were being used by “multiple, multiple people.” Since she allowed the illicit activity to continue, he said, she was creating a public nuisance.

Under Utah law, a nuisance is anything that interferes with the “comfortable enjoyment of life or property” or is indecent or offensive, including drug houses, drug dealing and any criminal activity committed “in concert with with two or more persons.”

Studley said neighbors and bystanders cheered when officers arrived at the home to serve the search warrant, which is one of the reasons the nuisance charge was added. In addition, he said the number of drug-related calls have gone down significantly since Dittmer’s arrest.

Dittmer remains in custody on $25,680 bail.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A couple was arrested after an alleged armed robbery in Washington City.

The incident began when officers responded to a disorderly call on Seminal Way in Washington City and arrived to find it was actually a vehicle burglary in progress, Washington City Police Chief Jason Williams said.

The homeowner told police he walked out of his residence to find two individuals, later identified as Joshua Swetky, 33, of Veyo, and 39-year-old Nicki Mawhorter, of St. George, allegedly removing items from the back of his pickup truck. When the pair was confronted, a scuffle ensued.

During the altercation, Swetky allegedly pulled out a firearm and threatened the resident with it before they fled in a vehicle. The homeowner was able to get his property back.

The scene was processed for evidence, and through the course of the investigation, detectives were able to identify the two suspects involved.

Both were found at a residence in Veyo Friday and were arrested and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility late that night.

Since a weapon was used in the course of the alleged crime, both suspects were booked into jail facing second-degree felony robbery charges, even though the weapon was found to be a BB gun.

“We later found out it was a BB gun that was used during the altercation, but nonetheless it was used to intimidate and threaten the homeowner which falls under the charge of robbery,” Williams said.

Swetky was also booked on a number of warrants out of Colorado, two of which were no-bail warrants, involving robbery and drug charges.

Mawhorter was booked into jail on a warrant issued out of the Bureau of Pardon and Parole after serving time in the Utah State Prison after two 2014 convictions for drugs and credit card thefts.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — Officers arrested a St. George man Sunday morning on a number of charges committed earlier in the month.

According to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, a local homeowner and his neighbor called the St. George Police Department on Sept. 1 just after midnight when they noticed a suspicious male – later identified as 31-year-old Joseph Tyler Alexander – attempting to break into the homeowner’s residence with a baseball bat.

The homeowner told the initial investigating officer that he was hosting a house party when he began to notice a number of individuals he did not recognize, including Alexander. When the homeowner approached Alexander at the party, he identified himself as “Joe” and said he was one of the neighbors. Alexander gave the homeowner a phone number that police were able to use to identify him later in the investigation.

As the party progressed, more people who were unfamiliar to the homeowner began to enter the house, so he began asking people to leave, including Alexander, who became agitated at the request and pushed the homeowner after he began to collect Alexander’s belongings to move them outside. After punching another party-goer, a scuffle between Alexander and the homeowner broke out, and according to the statement, Alexander punched the homeowner.

One of the neighbors broke up the fight and offered to walk Alexander home. During their encounter, the neighbor told police that Alexander said he had a gun in his waistline. The neighbor dropped Alexander off at his house before walking back to the residence where the party had been taking place.

The neighbor said he was about to leave the home when he saw Alexander walking back to the home with a bat. The homeowner, neighbor and several others still left in the home barricaded themselves in one of the bedrooms while they called the police.

During this time, one of the windows was broken and two cars were damaged with a blunt object, although no one inside of the home witnessed these events. According to the probable cause statement, officers assert that the damage to both the window and the cars are consistent with a baseball bat.

The investigating officer asked the neighbor if the damage could have been caused by someone else, to which he told the officer “he didn’t believe it could have been anybody else but Joseph (Alexander).”

Later that day, when officers attempted to ask Alexander about the incident, he said he didn’t recall anything about a party. However, one of the party attendees that was allegedly assaulted by Alexander showed a SnapChat picture that reportedly showed Alexander at the party.

On Sunday, St. George Police officer Joseph Diem took Alexander to the police department for questioning. Alexander told Diem that he had been walking to a friend’s house when he passed the home where the party was taking place.

Alexander told police he spoke with an unidentified man outside of the home who invited him in, where he had two beers before he was invited outside to smoke marijuana. The defendant said a verbal altercation broke out after he was skipped while people passed around a marijuana joint.

The argument escalated until Alexander said he was “jumped by 8-10 guys and assaulted on two separate occasions.” He said after the second incident, he returned home immediately and told his wife what had happened.

Diem booked Alexander into the Washington County Jail on misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass within a dwelling and two counts of assault, along with felony counts of aggravated burglary and criminal mischief.

Diem has also appealed for Alexander’s continued detention as the officer believes he is a substantial danger to the community and is likely to flee.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — Three suspects are in custody after officials say they burglarized two Cedar City pharmacies.

According to Cedar City Police Sgt. Clint Pollock, Cedar Communications was alerted to a potential break-in at Township Pharmacy at around 12:51 a.m. Tuesday. Officers found a broken window when they arrived on scene, although nothing appeared to be stolen or misplaced.

Officers began to search other pharmacies in the area and discovered three men near Cedar Drug and Gifts just after 1:45 a.m. who matched a description of the suspects given to Cedar City Police. The three men – 18-year-old Zachary Sipe, 18-year-old Levi Dronfield and 20-year-old Gray Bastian – were taken into custody.

Upon further investigation, officers found one of the windows of Cedar Drug and Gifts had been broken, and there was blood on the glass. One of the suspects had a laceration on his hands, and officers discovered that the men had allegedly broken into the pharmacies with intent to steal.

A vehicle belonging to one of the suspects was later located, and during a search of the vehicle, officers found what they suspected to be marijuana and prescription medication tablets, later identified as a controlled substance suspected to be Xanax.

All three suspects were booked into the Iron County Jail. Two of the suspects were charged with two counts of burglary and criminal mischief while the third suspect has been charged with two counts of burglary, criminal mischief and distribution of a controlled substance.

Pollock said Cedar City residents should report any suspicious activities they witness to the police, such as people loitering around pharmacies or other businesses that are closed late at night.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

PHOENIX (AP) — Husband and wife fugitives on the run for over two weeks and being sought by law enforcement in connection to the killing of an Arizona man have been captured, authorities announced.

The U.S. Marshals Service announced Wednesday night that Blane and Susan Barksdale were in custody but provided no details. David Gonzales, the U.S. marshal for Arizona, did not immediately return a call from the Associated Press.

KNXV-TV and azfamily.com reported the couple was apprehended Wednesday night at a home in Punkin Center, a small rural community about 50 miles northeast of Phoenix.

The Barksdales escaped Aug. 26 while being transported from upstate New York to Tucson, Arizona, to face charges in the April death of a 72-year-old man.

Authorities have said the couple overpowered two private security guards in the transport van they were traveling in after Susan Barksdale faked a medical emergency while they were in Blanding, Utah. They were last seen in northeastern Arizona.

Gonzales previously told The Associated Press that after Susan Barksdale, 59, faked the medical emergency, the guards pulled over the transport van and were overpowered by the couple as soon as they opened the back compartment.

He said the Barksdales tied up the guards, who were unarmed, with shoe laces. They also took a key to remove their own waist restraints.

From there, the Barksdales drove the van into Arizona. Once they got to the area of St. Johns, they obtained a friend’s red GMC Sierra pickup truck. The couple then drove both vehicles to a remote area outside of town and abandoned the van, Gonzales said.

It took the guards more than two hours to free themselves. By the time authorities reached the guards, the couple had been gone for several hours. An uninvolved prisoner was also found in the van with the guards.

For about a week after the escapes, digital highway signs displayed a message about the escapees and the pickup. Authorities took down the message after concluding that the couple likely wasn’t using the pickup at that point.

A press conference was scheduled by the Marshals’ office later Thursday morning in Phoenix to discuss the case.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

ST. GEORGE — A suspect wanted for attempted murder in Southern California was arrested in Cedar City after a coordinated operation was executed without incident.

Joshua Swarthout, 38, was taken into custody Friday night on a warrant out of Riverside, California for attempted murder and assault. He was subsequently transported to the Iron County Jail.

The arrest was set in motion after a Cedar City Police detective received a call from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office advising them that a man wanted for attempted murder was living in the Cedar City area.

The Riverside detective provided information on the suspect’s whereabouts and advised that Swarthout would likely be found driving a rental car, according to the probable cause statement submitted in support of the arrest.

Once the arrest warrant was confirmed through a computer check, a plan was devised and officers responded to the location provided, accompanied by Iron County Metro SWAT members and deputies from the Iron County Sheriff’s Office.

The suspect was located and arrested without further incident before being transported to the Iron County Jail.

The rental car Swarthout was driving was impounded by police.

The success of the operation was the direct result of planning — and taking every measure to ensure the safety of everyone involved, Cedar City Police Sgt. Clint Pollock told St. George News.

Particularly when an arrest warrant involves a serious criminal charge like attempted murder, as in this case, officers take every precaution and respond with enough manpower to effect a positive outcome, “with the goal of having everyone come out of the situation safely,” Pollock said.

The suspect is being held in the Iron County Jail without bail, as court records indicate Swarthout “would constitute a substantial danger to other persons or to the community,” the record said, or would likely flee the jurisdiction of the court if released.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — St. George Police Department arrested a Santa Clara man for allegedly breaking into and stealing items from multiple storage units on the afternoon of Sept. 2.

According to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, a St. George Police officer was called to Classic Commercial Storage after a report of multiple unit break-ins. The officer conducted an investigation and found that approximately $3,250 worth of items had been stolen.

Video footage of the incident was obtained, and the police were able to photograph two male suspects and the vehicle used. The rear license plate was covered with a piece of paper, but the truck had “distinct paint markings,” the statement said, and one of the windows was being held up by a clear piece of tape.

Officers were able to use this information to identify one of the suspects as 50-year-old Ward Sydney A. Lee but were unable to find him or bring him in for questioning until Sunday evening when two officers out on patrol spotted Lee’s car on Tabernacle Street. The officers followed Lee until they observed him failing to signal as he turned onto St. George Boulevard.

A traffic stop was initiated, and Officer Anthony Ott was able to positively identify Lee as the wanted suspect. Lee was arrested and told police he had been high on dope at the time of the thefts and could not remember what he took.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — After only two weeks on the job, Hildale and Colorado City’s newest police chief ended up in the hospital after he was physically assaulted while on duty.

Chief Marshal Robb Radley, a former Washington City Police officer, was dispatched to 400 Edson Ave. on Monday afternoon after a domestic assault was reported to be in progress, according to Colorado City Marshal Sgt. Mark Gower. Officers arrived to find that the 41-year-old male suspect had fled on foot.

First responders searched the nearby area on foot while vehicles patrolled the town. An officer located the suspect at Homestead Street and Johnson Avenue in Colorado City. When the officer exited his patrol car to approach the subject, the man began to assault the officer.

Radley arrived on scene and attempted to subdue the suspect and assist in the arrest. During the incident, Radley sustained serious injuries to his left leg and was transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center via ambulance. Ultimately it took three officers to get the man into custody.

The police chief was released from the hospital and returned home with a broken leg.

Town officials swore in the new police chief for Hildale and Colorado City in late August.

“We welcome Chief Radley to his new post at a critical point in our history, where the relationship between the police and our citizens has come so far, and yet has even further to go toward healing and bringing our community together,” Hildale and Colorado City officials said in a statement.

Radley has served the Short Creek area for the past seven months as a sergeant and takes the place of former Chief Marshal Mark Askerlund.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A Nevada man faces multiple felony charges after he was arrested at Sand Hollow State Park attempting to pay the entrance fee using a fake $100 bill. Additional charges followed for allegedly passing a number of counterfeit bills at local stores.

Gill Simpson, 43, of Las Vegas, Nevada, appeared in 5th District Court on Tuesday on two cases where he was charged with a total of five third-degree felony counts of forgery, four misdemeanor theft charges and one count of driving on a suspended/revoked license.

One forgery charge and the suspended license offense stems from an incident that took place Sunday at Sand Hollow State Park at about 1:30 p.m., when a park ranger was called to the entrance station by a park employee reporting that Simpson allegedly tried to pay for the entrance fee with a counterfeit $100 bill.

According to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, the ranger retrieved the counterfeit bill from the entrance station and “immediately” could tell by the texture of the paper and the print that the $100 bill was counterfeit.

The ranger approached the suspect’s vehicle stopped on the side of the road near the entrance station. Simpson said he received the bill from his grandmother and was unaware it was counterfeit. Even as the ranger advised Simpson it was clear the bill was fake, the suspect continued to deny any knowledge the bill was counterfeit, court records say.

Meanwhile, police ran Simpson’s vehicle through a license plate check, which came back as belonging to a different vehicle make and model, at which point police learned Simpson was driving on a suspended license out of Nevada. He said the license plate was on the vehicle when he purchased it and again reiterated the $100 bill was given to him by his grandmother and that he had no idea it was fake.

Simpson was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility on one third-degree felony forgery and driving on a suspended license. However, the following day the St. George Police Department submitted additional charges against Simpson, including four third-degree felony counts of forgery and four misdemeanor counts of theft related to incidents when the suspect allegedly passed four counterfeit $100 bills at a number of local stores in just as many days. Simpson was identified through surveillance footage and statements to police.

“Fortunately, the stores had quality surveillance equipment and witnesses who were able to provide police with good information on the suspect which helped identify him,” St. George Police Officer Tiffany Atkin told St. George News.

Atkin added that Simpson also attempted to pass the bills in Santa Clara and Mesquite, Nevada, but was unsuccessful.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A Las Vegas woman is in custody in Washington County facing child abuse charges after allegedly witnessing the sexual abuse of her children and not reporting it to police.

Alisha Dianne Leavitt, 36, was booked into jail Tuesday on two second-degree felony counts of child abuse — a warrant for her arrest on the charges was originally issued in July 2018. She was transported from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane to face the charges in Southern Utah, St. George Police officer Tiffany Atkin said.

The arrest stems from an investigation that began in November 2017 in Nevada, after police were contacted by a school counselor reporting possible sexual abuse of a 15-year-old.

During a followup on the report, the Nevada detective assigned to the case learned there were at least two additional children involved. Investigators contacted the St. George Police Department after discovering the abuse took place in St. George.

Three children, ages 12, 13 and 15, were interviewed at the Children’s Justice Center where they disclosed numerous incidents of sexual abuse perpetrated by 40-year-old James Michael Leavitt. According to the affidavit filed in support of her arrest, Alisha Leavitt, the children’s mother, “knew and had witnessed the offenses.”

In December 2017, police conducted a telephone interview with Alisha Leavitt, who reportedly admitted that two of the children told her of the abuse, at which point she confronted the suspect who told her “he would commit suicide” if she called authorities.

Alisha Leavitt also admitted to being present during two separate incidents when two of the children were being sexually abused and said she “never called police to report the abuse,” investigators wrote in the affidavit.

James Leavitt “admitted to sodomizing two of the girls,” according to charging documents, which note that the abuse had gone on for more than six years. In November 2017, he was arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree felony sexual abuse of a child.

He was also charged with four third-degree felony counts of dealing in material harmful to a minor after he admitted to showing videos depicting deviant sexual behavior, including bestiality, to three children between the ages of 9 and 15.

He pleaded guilty to all of the charges in April 2018 and was sentenced to serve no less than 10 years to life in prison on each count of sexual abuse and 0-5 years on each of the lesser counts. The sentences were ordered to be served concurrently. He is currently serving his sentence in the Utah State Prison in Salt Lake County.

Alisha Leavitt is scheduled to make an initial appearance in 5th District Court Tuesday and is being held on $5,000 bail. The victims of the abuse are currently living outside of Utah.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A  man is back in jail in Iron County after he was extradited from California for violating an interstate compact agreement by allegedly defrauding a Southern California bank of more than $37,000.

Johnathan Colon, 31, of Van Nuys, California, was booked into the Iron County Jail late Thursday night on a no-bail warrant filed in 5th District Court in Iron County after he was extradited back to Utah from Southern California, Iron County Sheriff’s Lt. Del Schlosser said.

The defendant was under an interstate compact agreement with California where he was to be fulfilling the terms of his Utah probation with authorities there, Schlosser said, which he allegedly failed to do. He added that one of the terms of that agreement is that Iron County hold the defendant without bail once he returns to Utah.

The case involved an arrest in August 2015 that resulted in five third-degree felony charges for unlawful acquisition of a finance card. The arrest took place during a traffic stop on southbound Interstate 15 near mile marker 44 where officers observed the car he was driving – a rental car he was not authorized to drive – allegedly going 92 mph in an 80 mph zone, according to charging documents filed with the courts.

During the stop police located multiple gift cards and credit cards that did not belong to Colon, a credit card skimmer inside a black speaker box in the rear seat of the vehicle and a number of credit cards that appeared to have been “shaved,” a technique where the raised numbers on the credit card are shaved off and placed on another card. Colon was later arrested and transported to jail.

After the case moved through the courts for more than a year, the defendant pleaded guilty to two of the charges in October 2016, with the remaining charges dropped as part of a plea agreement.

In February of the following year he was sentenced to serve 31 days in jail with credit for time served and pay a fine of $1,586. He was also ordered to complete 50 hours of community service and to report to Adult Probation and Parole, as well as comply with all standard release requirements. The prison term of up to five years on each charge was suspended in the case.

Colon was then approved for an interstate compact agreement with California, which is where he resided prior to his 2015 arrest in Iron County, and he relocated to Southern California where he was to complete the terms of his probation on the Utah case.

On April 9, Adult Probation and Parole in Utah was notified by the compact office in California that Colon was convicted of a felony fraud charge where he was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay more than $37,000 in restitution to Ally Bank in California, as well as obey all requirements of probation.

California authorities then requested that Utah “retake the defendant because of the violation of the compact rules” by committing a new felony crime, the probation report says, adding that Colon “continues to exhibit his high risk behavior by taking $37,902.98 from Ally Bank of California.” Later that same day, a warrant was issued out of 5th District Court in Iron County for Colon’s arrest.

The defendant remains in custody without bail.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A local man was arrested for allegedly stealing nearly $20,000 from his employer using a number of schemes involving the use of a company credit card for personal use.

William Duncan, 35, of St. George, was arrested Friday at a grocery store in St. George and booked into jail facing two second-degree felonies, including one count of unlawful use of a finance card and communication fraud. He was also charged with three third-degree felony counts of communication fraud, according to charging documents submitted to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review.

The charges stem from an investigation that ensued after a local business called police reporting that an employee, later identified as Duncan, had allegedly used a company credit card to make personal purchases.

During the investigation, detectives interviewed Duncan who admitted to making the purchases on the company’s card, saying that some of the purchases were accidental.

The suspect also admitted he had not obtained permission from his employer to use the card prior to making the charges, indicating that according to company procedure, the charges should be either on a tool account or refunded as part of a bankruptcy he was filing. With the ensuing investigation, Duncan was released.

Meanwhile, the company provided police with information about another alleged fraud involving charges that were made on the company account at a wholesale tire supplier, tires Duncan then allegedly sold to other employees for cash.

The size, brands and dates of the tire sales were consistent with the invoices related to what was charged on the company credit cards, and while the tires had been purchased out of state, they were sold in Utah, a scheme that resulted in a loss to the company of more than $5,800.

Duncan had also used a check issued by the company that was to be used to pay an outside contractor for business-related services, but instead of using the check as payment, the suspect cashed the check and paid for the services using a company credit card, resulting in a $2,100 loss to the company.

Additionally, the suspect used a company account to pay for work completed on his personal vehicles which resulted in a loss of more than $4,500 to the company.

A further review of company records indicated additional charges of nearly $1,700 to the tool account, which could not be reconciled with the sum of unauthorized charges. Further, detectives found that multiple charges on the company credit card were later disputed which resulted in refunds totaling more than $3,600 back to the company.

“This amount would be a loss suffered by the bank under the scheme of making charges, then disputing them for reimbursement,” the officer noted in the statement.

Detectives reviewed the list of charges that were neither disputed nor added to the tool account in the amount of nearly $5,200, which included charges to pay for items at local convenience stores, hotels, rental vehicles, a utility company, online retailers and more.

Shortly thereafter, detectives received information that Duncan was at a local grocery store on Mall Drive and responded to the store where they located the suspect and took him into custody.

Duncan was transported and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility for the offenses listed.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A woman was arrested after crashing into a parked vehicle in St. George Monday evening.

Emergency personnel responded to the crash on Dinosaur Crossing Drive around 8 p.m.

According to St. George Police officer Tiffany Atkin, a woman driving a gray Toyota sedan was traveling east on Dinosaur Crossing Drive when she hit a parked Mitsubishi SUV. The impact of the collision caused the Toyota to roll onto its roof.

St. George Police officer Antonio Brown spoke with the driver of the Toyota, 38-year-old Heather Lynn Wichman, when he arrived on scene.

Wichman told police she had climbed out of the window after she hit the parked vehicle. A woman on scene helped Wichman once she was out of the car and later told Brown that she believed the driver had been drinking, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.

Medical personnel arrived on scene and examined Wichman, who told the medical technicians she had consumed hard lemonade earlier that evening, according to the statement.

First responders attempted to transport Wichman to Dixie Regional Medical Center via ambulance after she was unable to accurately answer standard questions and her pupils were different sizes. She refused to be transported and stumbled as she walked over to a police patrol car, according to Brown.

Wichman was unable to tell police where she was coming from and was not making sense, according to the statement. Officers reported she did not know she had been in a crash.

Brown placed Wichman under arrest and transported her to Dixie Regional Medical Center for a blood draw to determine if she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Wichman was then booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility and charged with a class B misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Brown has applied for Wichman’s continued detention on the grounds that she constitutes a substantial danger to the community or is likely to flee and that the alleged crime was committed while on probation or parole.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A New York man who appeared in 5th District Court in St. George on charges involving a police pursuit will not be returning to his home state anytime soon, as he faces additional charges for offenses he allegedly committed while in custody in Utah.

Bryant Demelo, 31, of Willsboro, New York, appeared in court Wednesday for what was originally scheduled to be a sentencing hearing on a misdemeanor charge of failing to stop at an officer’s command.

Instead, the defendant appeared on four cases, including the original misdemeanor, a third-degree felony assault charge involving a fellow inmate reported last week, a third-degree felony charge of damaging the jail filed Monday and a felony fugitive warrant.

Demelo was originally arrested Sept. 5 after taking Utah Highway Patrol troopers on a 30-mile pursuit on Interstate 15 that began at mile marker 63 in Cedar City and ended at mile marker 21 just south of Leeds.

The pursuit was set in motion when a trooper attempted to stop Demelo as he was driving in a 2018 Chevrolet Cruze going nearly 100 mph on southbound I-15 near Cedar City. When Demelo refused to pull over, the chase was initiated and continued south, reaching speeds of 120 mph, according to charging documents filed with the court.

After more than 30 miles and on shredded tires, Demelo finally pulled the disabled car off the interstate and stopped, at which point he jumped out of the car and fled on foot. A passenger in the car, 32-year-old William Reno, of Plattsburg, New York, remained in the vehicle and was taken into custody at gunpoint.

Reno remained in jail awaiting extradition to New York on a felony warrant for allegedly running a methamphetamine lab out of his East Coast home.

Demelo was located and arrested hours later, and he was subsequently booked on the misdemeanor count of failure to stop at an officer’s command. Additional charges filed later in connection with the incident include one third-degree felony count of failing to stop at an officer’s signal, as well as misdemeanor drug and paraphernalia charges.

During Wednesday’s court proceedings, District Judge G. Michael Westfall gave Denelo’s defense attorney, Ed Flint, a choice on whether to proceed with the sentencing for the police pursuit case or initiate court proceedings on the newer charges.

Flint opted to go through with an initial appearance on the felony jail damage charge, which stemmed from an incident reported at Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane shortly before 11 p.m. Monday.

According to charging documents, a corrections officer observed Demelo wrap a towel around his face and climb on the toilet where he reached up and broke a sprinkler head, which sent a shower of water into the cell, causing it to become flooded to the point that water began leaking into the cell block.

When questioned about the incident, the defendant allegedly told the officers he wanted a shower and was not willing to wait until after a disciplinary hearing scheduled at the jail.

The scheduled disciplinary hearing the defendant reportedly wished to put off for a shower involved an incident that took place five days before. On Sept. 18, Demelo allegedly struck a fellow inmate while yelling “snitch” as the group was getting off the transport bus after returning to jail from the courthouse.

A corrections officer grabbed the defendant and separated the two inmates. Demelo was taken to his cell block with a “keep separate” order in place. He was later charged with third-degree felony assault on a prisoner “for being the aggressor,” according to charging documents.

He was also scheduled for a review hearing on a felony fugitive warrant out of New York, which Westfall set aside with three cases pending, saying Domelo “can’t be transported to anywhere right now.”

The fugitive warrant involves a felony case filed in Plattsburg, New York, where the defendant was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a controlled substance. On Sept. 5, the Plattsburg City Court issued the no-bail warrant, which was sent to authorities in Washington County.

The defendant is scheduled to be back in court Oct. 2.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — Two men are facing a slew of charges after they allegedly stole letters and packages out of the back of a United State Postal Service mail truck.

According to the probable cause statements filed in support of the arrest, 19-year-old Ramon Alfredo Beltran and 19-year-old Rodolfo Rafael Rodriguez-Silva drove into the secure area behind the post office on 180 N. Main St. in St. George before entering a loaded postal truck Saturday evening.

Rodriguez-Silva took two letter trays, and Beltran took two plastic totes filled with various packages. Both suspects placed the items into the back of the vehicle before leaving the scene. Witnesses were able to report the incident, suspect descriptions and a partial plate number for a vehicle licensed out of Nevada to police.

Officers located the vehicle and the two suspects on Interstate 15 and made contact near mile marker 3. According to the statement, after being read his Miranda Rights, Beltran recounted the incident, stating that Rodriguez-Silva had driven the vehicle. Rodriguez-Silva corroborated Beltran’s recollection of events after he was read his Miranda Rights.

Beltran added that he had marijuana inside the vehicle, and during a search, officers found a “sealed pouch,” the statement says, with a “green leafy substance” that officials identified as marijuana. Police also found the stolen mail and were able to return it to the post office.

Officers also found a Visa debit card in Rodriguez-Silva’s possession that did not belong to him, which he said he had found in a trash can. Rodriguez-Silva’s driver’s license, issued by the state of Nevada, had also been suspended at the time of the arrest.

Beltran is charged with a total of 10 class A misdemeanor counts of mail theft, as well as class B misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass and possession of marijuana. Rodriguez-Silva has also been charged with 10 class A misdemeanor counts of mail theft, as well as a class A misdemeanor count of vehicle burglary, class B misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass, class C misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended drivers license and a third-degree felony count of possession or acquisition of a financial transaction card.

The value of the mail was not able to be exactly determined at this time as there are several victims unidentified at this time.

Officials have appealed for continued detention of both suspects, asserting that they pose a threat to the public and are a flight risk. Both suspects also allegedly committed these crimes while they were out on probation or parole.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

CEDAR CITY — Utah Highway Patrol arrested three men Sunday evening after finding controlled substances during a traffic stop in Cedar City.

According to the probable cause statements filed in support of the arrest, 21-year-old Majed Ali Hassan from Missouri was traveling north on Interstate 15 just before 7 p.m. when UHP Trooper Colter Bentley observed Hassan’s white Chevrolet SUV with Nevada plates following another vehicle too closely.

Bentley initiated a traffic stop, where he noticed two other adult males in the vehicle, later identified as 21-year-old Naser Osman Moao from Kansas and 25-year-old Uridin Ahmed Sharif from Missouri. The officer advised the vehicle occupants of the reason behind the traffic stop and asked for their identification.

As Moao opened the glove box to retrieve his passport, Bentley observed a number of jars he recognized as being from a marijuana dispensary, according to the probable cause statement. Bentley advised dispatch that he was aware of drugs in the vehicle and called for another officer to safely search the rest of the vehicle.

During the search, officers discovered several boxes of THC cartridges in the vehicle. The boxes contained a total of 2,030 THC cartridges. Officers transported the vehicle and its occupants to the Section 11 Office in Cedar City.

At the office, a more in-depth search of the vehicle uncovered an orange pill bottle with three pink round pills in the center console, which were later identified as Oxycodone, a schedule II narcotic.

Moao told officers he obtained the pills “off the streets” and uses them for pain in his back. Officers searched the glove box and found three glass jars containing a leafy green substance identified as marijuana. Another glass dispensary jar was discovered behind the front passenger seat.

Officers were unable to locate Hassan’s driver’s license during the search.

Each of the three men were charged with a third-degree felony count of intent to distribute, offer or arrange distribution of a controlled substance.

Moao faces an additional class A misdemeanor charge of possession of a schedule II controlled substance and class B misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana or spice and use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

Hassan also faces traffic violations for following another vehicle too closely and operating a motor vehicle while his driver’s license was not in his possession.

All three men were booked into the Iron County Sheriff’s Office.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — The Cedar City Police Department is investigating a man who allegedly attempted to abduct a young girl at a travel stop.

According to a press release by Cedar City Police Sgt. Clint Pollock, officials responded to an alleged attempted child abduction on Tuesday evening in the tractor-trailer parking lot of Love’s Travel Stop on 2645 N. Canyon Ranch Drive.

An 8-year-old girl told police she was sitting in her father’s semi-truck while waiting for him to return with food when a man entered the vehicle from the driver’s side door and attempted to grab her. The girl kicked at the man before exiting the tractor-trailer while the suspect fled the scene in an unknown direction.

Witnesses on scene were able to give police a description of the man and the tractor-trailer he was driving, and Cedar Communications broadcasted an attempt to locate for the suspect. A Utah Highway Patrol officers located the vehicle near mile marker 13 on Interstate 15 in Washington County.

The suspect was placed in custody, transported to the Cedar City Police Department, and interviewed by a detective before he was released. Cedar City officials are not looking for any other suspects in the case, according to the press release.

Pollock said the man was released in order to ensure the department has everything necessary before acting, especially considering the seriousness of the allegations.

“With the investigation right now, we’re just sorting through all of our evidence, but due to the allegations and the seriousness of this crime, we want to make sure that we have everything in a row before we do anything,” he said. “We want to ensure that everything is covered.”

The incident is currently an open and ongoing case, and Cedar City police are consulting with the Iron County Attorney’s Office on the matter.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — Two women traveling through Utah from Colorado are in jail after a traffic stop on Interstate 15 in St. George turned up a suspicious spare tire packed with 40 pounds of methamphetamine.

Pebbles Yvette Gomez, 29, and 31-year-old Griselda Muniz, appeared Wednesday in 5th District Court on multiple charges, with each facing two second-degree felonies, including theft by receiving stolen property and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, along with third-degree felony possession of a firearm charge. Both women are from Aurora, Colorado, and also face misdemeanor possession of marijuana and paraphernalia charges.

The charges stem from an incident Monday when a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy stopped a vehicle on I-15 near mile marker 6 on a signal violation, and while speaking with the driver, later identified as Gomez, the deputy noticed a glass jar in the center console labeled as a THC product and containing a “green leafy substance.” He also noticed a glass pipe sitting on the floor near the passenger’s feet that appeared to be a marijuana pipe, according to charging documents filed with the court.  

During a subsequent search of the vehicle, deputies located a plastic tubular container labeled as a THC product that contained a small amount of marijuana shake. 

Additionally, a 9 mm pistol was located inside a backpack located in the rear seat of the vehicle. A records check revealed the gun was stolen out of Colorado. Also in the backpack were pieces of tin foil and a straw, consistent with methamphetamine or heroin use. 

During a search of the rear hatch of the vehicle that was reportedly cluttered with clothes, trash and other miscellaneous items, the deputy saw a tire iron set that was easily accessible among the clutter, and once he got under the vehicle to get a clear view of the spare tire, he noticed it to be larger than the tires on the vehicle and appeared new, with little dirt or dust on it. 

The deputy knocked on the tire, which gave a solid solid instead of the hollow “air-filled echo sound,” the officer noted. He followed with an echo test using a rubber mallet and a stethoscope, and instead of hearing an echo that occurs when the reverberation travels along the metal rim, the deputy heard a “thud,” which is produced when a tire is filled with anything other than air. 

Based on this echo test, the deputy let the air out of the tire and detected an “overwhelming” odor of lemon pepper, a common odor in which to wrap narcotics in an attempt to mask the smell from drug dogs. As the deputy rolled the tire a few feet, he said he could feel objects rolling inside the tire.

A K-9 was deployed and indicated to the presence of drugs in the tire. Once the air was let out and the sidewall was cut and pulled back, deputies discovered the tire to be “packed full of packages” wrapped in cling wrap and smeared with a coarse grained powder that appeared to be lemon pepper. 

Forty packages about the size of a softball weighing 1 pound each were removed from the tire. The packages contained a white powder that was later field tested and came back as a presumptive positive for methamphetamine. 

When the deputy spoke to the suspects about the findings in the trunk, Muniz, the passenger, immediately asked for an attorney, while Gomez denied any knowledge of the stolen handgun found in the car or the methamphetamine in the trunk. 

With the drugs inside the vehicle within direct reach of both suspects, the women were transported and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility and later charged for the alleged offenses. A subsequent records check of Gomez came back showing an extraditable warrant out of Colorado for drug charges.

During Gomez’s appearance Wednesday, public defender Jacob Fisher was assigned to represent her, and despite requesting a lower bail, District Judge G. Michael Westfall said the bail amount of $22,000 would stand, with the second-degree felony charges in Utah as well as the fugitive warrant out of Colorado. He also said the fugitive warrant would be trailing the Utah case, since she would not be able to be transported back to Colorado anytime soon. 

“She won’t be able to go anywhere until her case here is resolved,” Westfall added. 

In the meantime, extradition proceedings will be reviewed at regularly scheduled hearings, the first of which is scheduled for Wednesday.  Muniz is scheduled for a felony roll call hearing Tuesday and is being held on $20,000 bail. 

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.