ST. GEORGE — A local man was arrested during an unrelated incident involving a verbal dispute that brought several officers to Main Street Tuesday.

On Tuesday afternoon, officers responded to South Main Street on a report of a family fight and arrived to find the incident involved only a verbal altercation, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.

While speaking to one of the men involved in the argument, identified as 37-year-old Steven Mawhorter, officers recovered a bank card as well as a Utah Privilege card, neither of which belonged to the suspect.

According to police, Mawhorter said he found the cards lying on the ground in the parking lot near a car at the Red Roof Inn and placed them in his pocket to return them to the owner.

When asked why he still had them, the suspect said he had not had time to do so yet. As officers questioned the suspect further, Mawhorter confirmed that the woman he was with at the time of the incident did in fact have a cell phone, but told police he had made no attempt to find the owner of the cards because the cell phone was dead.

He said he found them in the parking lot near a car, and he placed them in his pocket to return them. He also said he did not know the individual named on the cards.

The report also stated that the cards were allegedly found in the parking lot six hours before the argument that summoned police, yet the suspect had made no attempt to turn them into the police station, nor did he take any steps to find the rightful owner.

When asked what he was doing over the last six hours that kept him from returning the cards, he said “he was fighting with his girlfriend and having a picnic,” the officer noted in the report.

Officers then contacted the individual named on the cards, who told police the items were stolen from her vehicle earlier in the year, adding that she never reported the incident because “none of the officers would listen to her.”

She also told officers she did not know the suspect, nor did she know why he would have her cards.

Mawhorter was arrested and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility facing one third-degree felony count of unlawful acquisition of a financial card and misdemeanor possession of another’s identity documents. He was later released on his own recognizance.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A traffic stop for a revoked driver’s license landed two suspects in jail Saturday after narcotics and paraphernalia were recovered by an alert police officer, along with the K-9 unit that responded to assist.

Early Saturday morning, an officer observed a vehicle heading east on St. George Boulevard and inside they recognized the driver, 36-year-old Patrick Kelly of Santa Clara, from prior contacts. The officer also suspected that Kelly was driving on a revoked license, according to the probable cause statements filed in support of the arrests.

The vehicle was stopped on West Sunset near the McDonald’s restaurant, and while speaking with the driver, the officer began to suspect that Kelly was possibly under the influence after noting that Kelly’s speech was slow and his eyes appeared to be watering and bloodshot.

The driver was given a field sobriety test, which he reportedly failed, and he was arrested and placed in the back of the patrol unit while a K-9 unit was called in to assist.

Meanwhile, the passenger, 24-year-old Kylie Lynn Gower, was told to exit the car and was seated on the curb nearby.

During an exterior sweep of the vehicle, the K-9 alerted to the possible presence of narcotics, which is when the car was searched by police. Inside, the report states, officers located a number of different drugs, the report states,. This included methamphetamine that was recovered from the passenger’s seat, along with a container of heroin located on the floorboard.

When asked if she had anything hidden on her person, Gower admitted to having drugs hidden in her pants, explaining that the driver asked her to hide the items “so they wouldn’t get caught with them,” as the vehicle was being pulled over by police.

Gower allegedly handed over a number of bags containing methamphetamine, as well as smaller baggies that contained what appeared to be heroin. She also handed over four different types of pills, primarily opiates and benzodiazepines, in addition to a number of straws and needles that had drug residue on them.

Both suspects were transported and booked into the Washington County Jail on multiple charges, including two third-degree felony counts of possession of a controlled substance, as well as several misdemeanor drug and paraphernalia charges. The suspects also face one count of tampering with evidence each, also a misdemeanor, and Kelly faces a driving on a revoked license offense.

Prior to transporting the suspect, officers conducted a background check and found that Kelly had numerous cases dating back more than 10 years. Officers also determined that Gower had multiple convictions for similar offenses, including one case filed in February following a pursuit in Iron County.

In that case, Gower was arrested following a pursuit that began with Beaver County Sheriff’s deputies that were tasked with investigating a robbery report involving a woman who reported she was robbed by three suspects who also stole her vehicle, according to charging documents filed with the court.

An “attempt to locate” broadcast was sent out to all surrounding agencies, alerting officers to keep an eye out for a vehicle matching the description of the one taken during the robbery.

A vehicle matching that description was spotted in Iron County at the gas pumps of a TA truck stop in Parowan by an officer who got behind the car as it entered the southbound on-ramp of Interstate 15.

Once backup arrived, the report states, the vehicle was pulled over by police, but as officers ordered all occupants to exit the vehicle, the driver sped away and continued south along the interstate at a high rate of speed.

With three patrol units in pursuit, the vehicle continued westbound at more than 100 mph when the driver failed to negotiate a turn at a dead-end intersection, where it struck a concrete rock pillar.

All three occupants jumped from the vehicle and ran from police, including the third occupant, later identified as Gower, who was injured in the crash. After fleeing, Gower returned to the scene and “walked right into officers,” and was arrested, the report states.

Once in custody, the suspects were interviewed and allegedly admitted to fleeing from police, stating “they knew running was the wrong thing to do but did it anyway,” the officer noted in the report.

During a search of the vehicle, officers located a number of items believed to be stolen, leading officers to continue the investigation that may result in additional charges that may be forthcoming.

Gower was transported to the Iron County Jail and booked on multiple charges, including second-degree vehicle theft, along with third-degree felony count for failing to stop or respond at command of law enforcement. She was also charged with misdemeanor fleeing charge as well as other drug and vehicle charges.

The suspect pleaded guilty to the charges during a hearing held in March, including the felony charges that were each reduced to a misdemeanor in exchange for the guilty plea. She was credited with serving 22 days in jail, was placed on probation and then released from custody.

Following Saturday’s incident, both Kelly and Gower remain in custody in Washington County without bail.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — Two children were taken to the hospital with second-degree burns and a man was arrested after his story did not match the burn patterns found on the toddlers’ bodies — leading police to believe he intentionally burned the children with hot liquid.

Hurricane Police Officer Ken Thompson told St. George News that the arrest stems from an investigation that began Oct. 2 when an individual called police to report suspicious burns on two toddlers that took place the night before. The caller reported that once they saw photos of the burns, they became suspicious and called police.

At the time of the incident, the suspect, 24-year-old Austin Woolsey, was watching the children. Thompson said Woolsey told the family he was walking with a cup of hot chocolate and tripped, causing the liquid to spill on both children, both of whom were taken to the emergency room that same night and treated for second-degree burns.

One of the children, a 2-year-old, suffered a large burn to the left side of his body that began just under the toddler’s arm and chest and then continued downward, where it transitioned across the side of the child’s torso and stopped just above the diaper line.

The officer also noted that the burn on the child’s upper chest area appeared to break in a straight line.

The second child, a 3-year-old, sustained burns to his forehead and neck area, both of which were on the left side of the toddler’s body. The officer also noted in the probable cause statement filed with the courts that the burns on both children appeared to have been caused by “a hot liquid that was poured on the body.”

When officers met with Woolsey at his residence, the suspect walked the officers through the events that led up to the hot chocolate being spilled on the children and told police it was “an accident,” the arresting officer noted in the report.

“I could see the story Austin told me and how he described the events did not correspond to the burns,” the officer noted.

When asked specifically, Woolsey reportedly admitted to intentionally pouring hot water on the children, telling officers “he wanted to see what it would do,” Thompson said, adding that the liquid was poured on each child separately.

The report also states the suspect admitted to officers that he knew it was wrong and that he’d “learned his lesson,” telling police that after it happened, he felt “kinda sad.”

Thompson said a family member of Woolsey’s told officers that he has autism.

Woolsey was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and was charged the following day with two second-degree felony counts of child abuse-inflicting serious injury intentionally. He was released from custody Wednesday and is scheduled to make an initial appearance Dec. 28.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — An Iron County man is in jail following an alleged assault that resulted in injuries so specific he was originally booked into jail on a mayhem charge.

Chavis Dino Blackhorse, 31, of Cedar City, was arrested on a warrant issued when the suspect failed to comply with a sentencing order involving a case filed in May, in which Blackhorse was arrested and booked on second-degree felony mayhem, third-degree felony aggravated assault committed with force-violence to injure, along with misdemeanor intoxication charge.

He later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor attempted aggravated assault and intoxication and was placed on probation.

In that case, deputies with the Iron County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to investigate a report of two men fighting on the C-Trail, a downhill trail that winds down the face of Cedar Mountain bordering Dixie National Forest. Witnesses also reported that one of the men was bleeding heavily from the face.

Upon arrival, officers first encountered Blackhorse, who appeared intoxicated, and asked him where the second man reported by witnesses had gone.

The suspect allegedly told police there was no second man. Blackhorse was detained while officers began searching for the injured individual.

They found the man just east of the trail, bleeding heavily from the face. As they hiked the man down the hill, they noted he had a severe laceration to the left nostril, as well as a deep cut that went from the bottom of the nose to the top of his upper lip. He had severe swelling in the face and other cuts and scrapes on his face, according to charging documents filed with the court.

Two witnesses who were out hiking at the time told police they saw the man earlier, and he “was not bloody,” the officer noted in the report. The witnesses went on to say that as they continued their hike, they saw the suspect “beating on the victim” with his fists, the bag the suspect had with him, “and potentially a rock.”

During an interview with the suspect at the Iron County Sheriff’s Office, Blackhorse reportedly denied hitting the man, telling officers he tripped, an account that did not match statements provided by the injured man who said they were fighting near the top of the hill.

Officers also noted the man had “only fresh injuries to his face,” while Blackhorse had blood on his hands and knuckles. They also noted that most of the damage to the man was to the left side of his face, and while he was in custody, officers noted that Blackhorse was right-handed.

The officer submitted the mayhem charge due to the laceration of the man’s nostril and lip area, as well as aggravated assault for causing bodily injury to another and intoxication. Additionally, officers later determined that the injured man was related to the suspect.

Iron County Sheriff’s Lt. Del Schlosser said the mayhem charge is not used very often. In this case, he said it was added by the deputy since the suspect allegedly beat the man to the point that his left nostril became partially detached from his nose.

Mayhem charge — a journey from 15th century England to Utah

The history behind the mayhem charge is extensive and goes back to a 15th century English common law crime. It sprang from cases in which a witnesses’ eyes or tongue were cut out to prevent them from testifying in court, according to FindLaw.

The law was based on the premise that “he that maimed any man whereby he lost any part of his body was sentenced to lose the like part,” a punishment the court found could not be repeated in cases when it came to “an eye for an eye,” for example, which would require that a man’s eye be cut out as punishment. This didn’t seem to go over very well with the English court system at the time, so it was changed to a fine and imprisonment instead.

Two hundred years later, changes were made to the statute that laid the foundation for the modern-day charge, changes that arose out of an incident whereby Sir John Coventry’s nose was slit because of “obnoxious words uttered by him in Parliament” in 1670. However, his nose was not cut off, so they had to make modifications to the law through the Coventry Act.

In the U.S., the mayhem charge is nearly identical to the 1670 act and pertains to cases in which either the tongue is cut out or disabled, an eye is put out, a nose is slit, a lip is cut off, or any other limb or member of a person that is cut off or disabled.

In Utah, the law was enacted in 1973 and states that anyone who “unlawfully and intentionally deprives a human being of a member of his body, or disables or renders it useless, or who cuts out or disables the tongue, puts out an eye, or slits the nose, ear or lip is guilty of mayhem,” which is a second-degree felony.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — An Ivins man with a long history of cases and convictions is in jail in Washington County and being held without bail following a dispute that took place in Orem several weeks ago..

On Thursday night, Joshua LeGrande Dean, 41, of Ivins was arrested and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility on an aggravated assault case filed in a Utah County court last week.

According to court records, the incident was reported Sept. 27 when police in Orem were dispatched to an residential assault call. Officers arrived and were told by several witnesses that just before the altercation took place, Dean was yelling at a family member outside of the home.

An individual went outside and asked the suspect to lower his voice, the report says, at which point Dean allegedly punched the man several times in the face and then tackled him to the ground, where he began choking him until he could no longer breathe.

Other family members went outside when they heard the commotion and attempted to break up the fight, pushing and hitting Dean until he got off the man and left the property. Officers scoured the area in search of the suspect but were unable to locate him.

“Officers believe Joshua has returned to St. George,” the Orem Police Officer noted in the report.

Utah County Attorney’s Office formally charged Dean with third-degree felony aggravated assault, and he was arrested in St. George by Adult Probation and Parole agents shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday.

This is not Dean’s first brush with the law.

In 2018, Dean was charged with third-degree felony weapons offense after officers in Roy were called out to one of the Utah Transit Authority stations on a report that a rider was followed and threatened by a suspect holding a 12-inch knife. The man then pulled one of the station’s emergency levers and transit police responded.

Dean was located shortly after and transported to the Weber County Jail where he was booked on felony threat-use of a dangerous weapon in a fight and misdemeanor charges. He later pleaded guilty to felony weapon possession and a misdemeanor attempted aggravated assault charge and was sentenced to serve 0-5 years in Utah State Prison.

There is no record of any other offenses from the time Dean was sentenced until the assault case filed in October. However, in another case filed in March 2010, the suspect was charged with first-degree felony robbery and possession of a dangerous weapon for his participation in a prostitution scam involving three other suspects.

In that case, the scam was set up to rob a 28-year-old Pleasant Grove man who was reportedly lured to an apartment in Salt Lake City on the promise of a sexual encounter with two women in exchange for money.

The man showed up, the report states, and once he paid the women, Dean and a second suspect emerged from the bathroom yielding a knife and hammer and robbed him.

Dean pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery and a third-degree weapons offense and was released with credit for time served. After after a series of arrests and probation violations, the case was closed in 2015.

In another case filed in September 2000, the suspect was charged with robbery  following an incident at a library in Layton where two individuals were robbed of their money and cigarettes by Dean and another person. The charge was reduced to attempted robbery. Dean pleaded guilty and was sentenced to serve a year in Davis County Jail and placed on three years probation.

Following Thursday’s arrest, Dean remains in custody without bail on a Utah Bureau of Pardons and Parole hold.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — The alleged criminal activities of a Nevada man who arrived at Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George to pick up a prescription were put to an end Thursday after an alert pharmacist contacted a police officer stationed at the hospital.

The man, 23-year-old Juan Palacios, was arrested and booked into jail Thursday evening. He faces second-degree felony possession of a false identity document, as well as three third-degree felony charges, including two counts each of unlawful acquisition of a finance card and identity fraud. He also faces one misdemeanor possession of marijuana charge.

The arrest stems from an investigation into possible fraud conducted by St. George Police Officer Ken Childs at Dixie Regional Medical Center involving a prescription for cough medicine with codeine called into the hospital pharmacy.

According to court documents, when the pharmacist contacted the prescriber, they were told that no prescriptions had been issued to anyone using the suspect’s name.

When the suspect arrived at the pharmacy to pick up the prescription, he was approached by police and he identified himself as Palacios, showing them an image of an ID from his phone.

When he was told he would be transported to the St. George Police Department for an interview, he asked one of the officers to turn off his car that he left running in the parking lot.

As he approached the vehicle to turn it off, the officer noticed medication packaging through the windows, and when he opened the car door, he was hit with a strong odor of burnt marijuana, according to the probable cause statement written in support of the arrest.

The officer allegedly found multiple medication bottles inside of the car, along with a substance consistent with marijuana. In the passenger compartment, police say the officer found three prescription bottles with packaging indicating they were filled with cough syrup containing codeine.

The fill dates on the bottles revealed they were filled at a number of pharmacies in multiple states over the course of three weeks, including Las Vegas, Nevada; Pasadena, California; and New York. Another pill bottle labeled as oxycodone was filled in Nevada in August.

In the trunk, officers allegedly also found a duffle bag containing eight empty prescription bottles of cough syrup filled in Oakland and San Francisco in California and Waldorf, Maryland.

With the inventory of the car complete, officers searched Palacios, allegedly finding an additional bottle of codeine cough syrup in the front pocket of his jacket.

Officers also found two Visa debit cards belonging to two individuals, neither of whom were the defendant, as well as a California Driver’s License with a photo of Palacios, but under a different name.

The ID had “an appearance inconsistent with a typical ID photo,” the officer noted in the report, leading police to believe it was a fake driver’s license.

While following up with the pharmacies where the medications had been filled, police obtained a matching description of the suspect.

Officers also learned of an incident that took place the previous day, in which Palacios was driven to St. George from Las Vegas, during which time he was overheard calling in prescriptions to a number of pharmacies throughout St. George, providing the same prescriber’s name and DEA number as was given to the hospital.

Further, a number of prescriptions called into pharmacies in Washington County were reportedly picked up by the defendant, evidenced by the number of prescription bottles later recovered from the car, all of which were filled using the same physician’s information that did not authorize or call in the medication.

Moreover, officers say they have reason to believe the suspect is involved in identity fraud, with a forged California Driver’s license and another ID card allegedly recovered that did not belong to the suspect.

Palacios was arrested and booked into jail Thursday evening. Officers requested Palacios be held without bail, as he has no apparent ties to the community, has traveled to multiple states within a short time period and is engaged in crimes of “dishonesty and fraud.” The request was subsequently approved, and he remains in custody at the time of this report.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A Cedar City man on probation for a violent attack in 2018 was arrested Saturday, accused of severely beating a couple during an unprovoked attack outside of their home.

According to charging documents filed with the court, officers were dispatched Saturday night to a residence in Cedar City on an assault in progress after a witness called 911 reporting that a woman was being beaten with a metal pipe.

Officers arrived to find two injured individuals behind the residence and were informed the incident began when a suspect, identified as 31-year-old Jason Wardle, came to the rear door of the home and started banging on it. When the resident opened the door, the suspect entered, saying he was there to buy drugs, an account corroborated by witnesses at the scene.

When the man told Wardle they didn’t sell drugs and that he needed to leave, Wardle  reportedly rushed the man, tackling him to the ground, and a physical altercation ensued.

A woman in another room of the house came in when she heard the commotion and saw the suspect striking the man “over and over,” severely beating him, the officer noted. She grabbed a curtain rod and started striking the suspect so he would stop.

Wardle then allegedly turned on the woman and threw her to the ground just outside of the back door, where he began to hit her with a metal pipe. He then got on top of her and began choking and punching her in the face, which is when the injured man attempted to grab hold of the suspect to get him off her.

“At this point the suspect began smashing the male victim’s head into a concrete wall,” the officer wrote in the report.

The suspect fled on foot just prior to officers arriving, and when he was located nearby, officers noted that Wardle was “obviously intoxicated” and described slurred speech, belligerent behavior and a strong odor of alcohol.

The officer also noted cuts on the suspect’s knuckles that were consistent with markings sustained in a fist fight, along with markings on his back that appeared fresh.

Wardle was transported to the Iron County Jail where he faces first-degree aggravated burglary and two third-degree felony counts of aggravated assault-an attempt with force or violence to injure.

The suspect has two prior aggravated assault cases, including a 2015 case that began when police were called to what was initially reported as noise complaint at an apartment complex in Cedar City.

Responding officers arrived to find that Wardle had assaulted his two roommates, striking one with a 3-foot-long samurai sword and elbowing the other in the face when she tried to stop him. A neighbor was also kicked in the stomach by Wardle when the fight moved outside and the neighbor attempted to intervene.

When the officers entered the residence, Wardle “met this entry with violence,” the arresting officer wrote, and attempted to bite and spit on the officers as he fought them off.

Wardle was eventually taken into custody and booked into the Iron County Jail and later pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors, including aggravated assault, assault on a peace officer, interfering with an arrest and intoxication. He was ordered to serve 21 days in jail and was placed on 24-months probation and ordered to attend anger management classes, requirements he successfully completed in February of the following year.

In 2018, the suspect faced nearly a dozen charges for an incident involving the assault of four individuals, including two children.

In that case, officers responded to an altercation at a residence in Cedar City where they found a large group of adults and children yelling outside of the home. The altercation began when Wardle struck his wife in the face, and when one of the children attempted to stop the fight, Wardle bit the child in the face and put him in a choke hold before throwing him to the ground.

Wardle also punched a younger child in the face and attacked a neighbor who attempted to intervene and get the children to safety, beating and biting the neighbor several times.

Wardle was arrested on nine felony offenses for aggravated assault and domestic violence-related charges, along with misdemeanor interfering with an arresting officer, disorderly conduct and intoxication.

He pleaded guilty to three of the charges the following year, while nine were dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea. Three prison terms were suspended in the case, and instead, Wardle was sentence to serve 270 days in jail and placed on 36-months probation. He was also ordered to pay $1,100 in fines and $817 in restitution. He was still on probation when Saturday’s incident was reported.

Iron County prosecutor Chad Dotson told St. George News that on Oct. 22, he was following up on Wardle’s case and requested a show cause hearing after Wardle failed to abide by the terms of his probation, citing he failed to make consistent restitution payments, to obtain a substance abuse evaluation and that he also failed to complete treatment.

“We ordered restitution in that case to at least try and make his victims whole, but he didn’t even do that,” Dotson said.

The reason behind the order was to ensure that Wardle’s progress, or lack thereof, would be addressed by the court and to make the court aware that he had violated the terms of his probation as ordered by the judge instead of allowing his probation to continue with so little effort on the part of the defendant.

“I filed that order because the defendant needs to answer for his lack of progress while on probation,” Dotson said, adding that the violence demonstrated during the 2018 crime was particularly heinous, which is something the prosecutor’s office takes very seriously.

Referring to Saturday’s arrest, Dotson said the incident will definitely change things and that in light of the level of violence depicted throughout the suspect’s criminal history, the prosecutor’s office “will do everything we can to make sure he is held accountable for his actions and that he gets the maximum sentence possible.”

Wardle is in custody in Iron County and is being held without bail, according to the no-bail order signed by District Judge Ann Marie McGiff-Allen Monday morning.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

CEDAR CITY — An Arizona driver who allegedly fled from police Sunday afternoon near Parowan was apprehended a short time later by officers who found the woman on the rooftop of a home in Enoch.

Samantha Flanagan, 28, of Camp Verde, Arizona, was arrested and booked into Iron County Jail on several charges, including fugitive from justice, failure to stop at command of police, reckless driving, speeding, theft of a rental vehicle and possession of drugs and paraphernalia.

According to the probable cause statement filed in support of her arrest, Flanagan had three extraditable warrants out of Arizona, at least one of which was a felony.

According to the charging document, the incident began shortly after 4:30 p.m. Sunday when a Parowan Police officer attempted to pull over the driver of a newer model Ford Mustang traveling on Interstate 15 without its lights on in inclement weather.

Instead of pulling over, the driver increased her speed and pulled away from the officer, at one point reaching an estimated speed of 115 mph, the officer wrote.

The woman reportedly exited I-15 at Exit 75 at Summit and continued south on Old Highway 91, at which point an Iron County Sheriff’s deputy deployed a spike strip across the roadway. Although the driver swerved to miss the spikes, they did deflate the vehicle’s tires on the passenger side, the statement said.

The driver didn’t stop right away, but the vehicle ultimately left the road and crashed through a barbed wire fence, at which point the driver exited the car and fled on foot.

Officers from multiple agencies set up a perimeter, after which the woman was found on the rooftop of a nearby residence and taken into custody.

Deputies reportedly found a substance suspected to be methamphetamine in the vehicle, along with glass paraphernalia with drug residue inside. They also found multiple credit cards that did not belong to the driver, the charging document adds. Additionally, the Ford Mustang was reported to have been stolen from a Hertz car rental establishment in Arizona.

Flanagan, who is being held in Iron County Jail, has not yet made her initial court appearance as of Tuesday morning.

This report is based on information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A St. George man was arrested Wednesday for initiating an altercation between two teens over the weekend, one of whom was his daughter. The assault was captured on video that later surfaced and was handed over to police.

Taimi Taimi, 39, of St. George, was arrested and booked into jail in Washington County shortly after 2:15 p.m. Wednesday on a felony rioting offense as well as one count of threatening violence, a misdemeanor.

According to charging documents filed with the court, the arrest stems from an investigation that began Saturday when police were dispatched to a residence on 790 North on a call involving a fight in progress.

The altercation was over by the time officers arrived, but witnesses told police the fistfight, which involved two teenage girls, was set in motion when the suspect brought his daughter and several other family members to the home “just to fight,” the officer noted in the report.

When the homeowners attempted to break up the fight, the suspect allegedly encouraged his daughter to continue punching the other girl in the mouth. As the physical altercation continued, Taimi then attempted to start a fight with the homeowner.

Officers later went to the suspect’s residence and spoke with Taimi, who allegedly denied the allegations and told officers he took the girl there to pick up some property, but once they arrived, it was the other party that started the fight.

Through the course of the investigation, officers learned of a video that captured the altercation — footage that called the account the suspect provided to police into question.

While viewing the footage, officers could see several of the suspect’s family members in front of the residence where the altercation took place. The footage also showed the two teens fighting in the front yard, with the suspect’s daughter striking the other girl while sitting on top of her.

All the while, the suspect could be seen standing over the girls “encouraging” his daughter to continue hitting the teen in the mouth, the officer noted, and the video showed the prolonged efforts of the homeowners to break up the fight. At the same time, the couple was seen in the video disengaging from the suspect who was attempting to fight with both of them.

According to the report, the juvenile sustained multiple minor injuries during the assault.

The video also showed the group that accompanied the suspect standing in the middle of the street, with one of the members holding a cell phone to presumably record the altercation taking place in the yard.

After viewing the video, officers conducted a second interview with Taimi, who allegedly told them “he did not remember” telling his daughter to hit the other girl. When officers asked why the suspect tried to fight the homeowner who was trying to break up the altercation between the youths, Taimi allegedly responded by saying he felt threatened.

The suspect was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked on a third-degree felony count of rioting – bodily injury-property-damage-arson-dangerous weapon, and one misdemeanor count of threat of violence. He was released from custody after posting a bond on $5,010 bail.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A woman faces a felony child neglect charge after allegedly becoming belligerent with officers attempting to help her and her infant find lodging as temperatures dropped below freezing in Cedar City.

The arrest stems from an incident that began shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday when officers were dispatched to a domestic call involving a woman who reported she was being stalked.

Officers responded to the area in search of the caller, who they found walking along West Industrial Road pushing an infant in a baby stroller, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.

The child appeared to be about four months old, the officer noted in the report.

When officers approached, the woman allegedly became “immediately belligerent” and refused to answer any of the officer’s questions as they attempted to assist her with the stalking call. Officers also noted it was 27 degrees outside when they first made contact with the woman, and they advised her it was “far too cold” to have the child outside.

According to the report, the woman, later identified as 33-year-old Crystalline Verrill, continued arguing with the officer, telling him the baby was bundled up in a blanket to keep warm.

The officer noted that the woman was involved in an incident hours before when she was kicked out of the home where she was employed as a nanny about 2 miles from where officers found her. Officers checked on the infant and found the baby to be wrapped in a blanket that was insufficient to keep him warm in such frigid weather.

It was also determined that Verrill had been walking with the infant for several hours after she left the home where she had been living and working. She allegedly left shortly before 10 p.m., and possibly even earlier, since the woman told police she had left shortly after 5 p.m. the previous evening.

Officers then learned that Verrill allegedly became angry and left the home after the owners asked her not to smoke in the house, and then stated she was abused. When the officer asked Verrill if she had money for a hotel, she reportedly said she had $40 that was not on her, adding that she wouldn’t waste her money on a hotel.

Officers also learned that Verrill had previous encounters with Cedar City Care and Share and the Women’s Crisis Shelter, but was not allowed back at either facility.

The officer then drove Verrill to the area of 800 West, where one of the woman’s friends lived. But when they arrived, she refused to tell police the address, nor would she show them where the home was located.

At that point, the officer “began to believe that she had no plans or intentions of staying off the streets for the night” and ran a background check on the woman that revealed previous contacts with police, including incidents where Verrill told officers she was homeless when she was found walking around with the baby, the officer noted in the report.

According to police, Verrill allegedly exposed the infant to frigid temperatures for an extended period of time without any plans for seeking shelter, adding that the weather was “incompatible with the safety and well-being of her child,” then she refused to give officers any location where she could stay and she remained belligerent as they continued to try and help her.

Verrill was then arrested and the Department of Children and Family Services was contacted for the infant, while the suspect was transported and booked into the Iron County Jail facing third-degree felony child abuse — inflict serious bodily injury recklessly.

According to court records, the officer also noted that the infant could be placed in substantial danger if released back into the suspect’s custody.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE —A St. George man was arrested Friday facing aggravated assault charges after allegedly pulling a machete on a customer and a bouncer during an altercation inside the One and Only Bar earlier this month.

Douglas Jackson, 41, was arrested and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility on two third-degree felony counts of aggravated assault and misdemeanor disorderly conduct Friday shortly after 10 p.m.

The arrest stems from an incident reported Nov. 1 when officers were dispatched to the One and Only Bar on 800 East in St. George on a fight in progress, according to charging documents filed with the court.

During the initial 911 call, an employee reported that three intoxicated men were fighting inside the bar. When officers arrived, they found one of the men had sustained minor facial injuries and scrapes to his arms.

The report also states the man, who was later arrested in connection with the altercation, told officers he was jumped by another bar patron who attacked him with a machete, adding that the suspect swung the machete several times at him, causing the scrapes to his arms, before he was able to punch the suspect, knocking him to the ground.

While still at the scene, officers were approached by one of the bar’s bouncers who told them he had witnessed the fight and was able to identify the suspect with the machete as Jackson, and said he saw the suspect inside the bar with the weapon just prior to the alleged assault.

The witness also told officers that Jackson appeared to be trying to start a fight with the man and the bar patron’s friends, and had been asked to calm down and to stop numerous times. When the bouncer attempted to intervene, Jackson allegedly swung the machete at him, “almost slitting his throat,” the officer noted from the bouncer’s recount of events to police.

The suspect then fled the bar in his vehicle just prior to officers arriving.

A criminal check revealed that Jackson had a no-bail warrant out of American Fork, along with two traffic warrants, one out of Juab County Justice Court and another issued out of Washington County.  Officers were unable to locate the suspect immediately following the incident.

On Friday night, Jackson was located by police and detained. During questioning, Jackson allegedly admitted to taking the machete to the bar on the night in question, explaining to officers that he took the weapon to defend himself, and said he swung the machete, but denied striking anyone with it.

Jackson was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked on the above-listed offenses and is being held without bail.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — Charges continue to pile up for a Santa Clara man accused of multiple burglaries, thefts and other crimes committed throughout St. George, adding to more than 30 cases for the suspect with a criminal history spanning decades.

On Thursday, the Washington County Attorney’s Office filed multiple charges against 51-year-old Ward Sydney A. Lee, following an incident that has been under investigation since April when the owners of a business reported that their shop was broken into and more an $3,100 in cash and other items were stolen.

Officers responded and learned that the night before, a suspect broke into the business and took $160 from the register that sustained $200 in damage when the suspect busted it open.

More than $3,000 in camera equipment was also taken during the break-in.

Surveillance footage later recovered by police showed an older man enter the rear of the building shortly after 9 a.m. And when the suspect reached the front office, officers could see the man turn the surveillance system off.

Officers considered Lee a person of interest in the case, who was also the primary suspect in multiple other burglary reports that were still under investigation by police.

After reviewing the footage, officers determined that Lee fit the description of the suspect involved in the photo business burglary, noting that Lee also walked with a similar gait as the suspect in the footage.

During an interview at the jail Wednesday, the suspect denied any involvement in the recent crimes and told officers “he was done talking.”

Lee has been in jail since his arrest Sept. 15, when officers recognized the suspect from a number of unrelated burglaries reported in the area during a traffic stop.

A Washington County prosecutor, who was handling several other cases involving the suspect, reviewed the footage recovered by police and found that Lee matched the description of the man in the footage, and told the officer there was probable cause to file charges related to the burglary. The following day, two third-degree felony charges, one count of burglary and one count of theft were filed, along with misdemeanor criminal mischief for damaging the cash register.

Lee was also charged for two break-ins at Empire Waste Services that reportedly took place a month apart. The first incident was reported in June, when the suspect allegedly pried one of the doors open and entered the building where he reportedly took a cash box containing more than $3,000.

Surveillance footage showed the suspect riding away from the business on a bicycle carrying what appeared to be a metal cash box, the same bicycle that was later found in front of a residence nearby, according to the affidavit filed in support of the arrest warrant.

In August, the business was broken into a second time and nearly $30,000 worth of items were reportedly stolen, including a $28,000 Snap-on scanning tool. The burglary also caused an estimated $600 in damage to the building. Lee was later charged with second-degree felony theft, for the scanning tool, along with two counts of burglary and two counts of theft, each a third-degree felony.

Also in June, Lee was the primary suspect in a break-in reported at a storage yard on 900 East where a drone kit valued at nearly $1,600 was stolen. The theft was captured on surveillance footage that showed a suspect matching Lee’s description. He was later charged with felony theft and misdemeanor vehicle burglary.

In January, Lee was arrested by St. George Police on a warrant issued in October out of 5th District Court after he failed to appear for a hearing involving three third-degree felony counts of burglary and a felony theft charge, along with misdemeanor gun and criminal mischief charges. In that case, the suspect allegedly broke into several storage units in September of last year.

As the suspect was being booked in jail, officers then discovered that Lee had multiple previous convictions for theft burglaries, aggravated assault and being in possession of a dangerous weapon. Lee’s criminal history includes more than 30 cases and a number of prison sentences dating back to at least 1988, according to information found in court and arrest records.

Lee remains in custody on the four open cases and is being held on $52,000 bail.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

CEDAR CITY — A driver was arrested following a single-vehicle crash and fire on Old Highway 91 north of Cedar City Monday afternoon.

The somewhat bizarre incident was reported shortly before 3:30 p.m. and involved a silver Chevrolet passenger car driven by a 35-year-old man.

Iron County Sheriff’s Lt. Del Schlosser said the driver was heading north on Old Highway 91 when the car went off the left side of the road and crashed.

“The driver of the vehicle at some point exited the car alongside the road, and the vehicle caught on fire,” Schlosser said, adding that the man was found lying in the middle of the road when rescuers arrived and reportedly told them he had been ejected from the car.

A brisk wind spread the flames from the weeds along the roadside and into an adjacent field toward nearby homes. However, firefighters were able to quickly bring the blaze under control.

Traffic along Old Highway 91, which runs as a frontage road alongside Interstate 15, was impacted for more than an hour while responders worked to clear the scene.

Meanwhile, Iron County Sheriff’s deputies noticed the driver’s “erratic” behavior, according to a probable cause statement filed Tuesday in support of the man’s arrest.

“I checked the subject for weapons and found two glass pipes consistent with meth use in his front pockets,” the investigating deputy wrote in the affidavit, which described the driver as having excited speech and erratic arm movements.

“I moved him back to the ambulance to get him checked on, and in so doing, the driver attempted to bite my hand,” the deputy’s statement added.

After being transported to the hospital, the man continued to be noncompliant and “passive-aggressive” in his behavior, the statement said. However, he did eventually receive medical clearance and was subsequently taken to Iron County Jail, where he reportedly assaulted four other officers while in custody. He was eventually processed and formally booked on Tuesday.

Deputies said the man, identified in charging documents as Demetrice Denegal, is from out of state with no known ties to Utah and no criminal record in Utah. He was reportedly traveling from the eastern United States and heading to the West Coast when the incident occurred.

Denegal, who has not yet made an initial court appearance, remains in custody at the jail on suspicion of multiple charges, including five counts of assault by a prisoner, a third-degree felony, along with various misdemeanor counts, including drug possession, possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to remain at the scene of an accident, driving without valid insurance and obstruction of justice. He was also cited for the infractions of improper lane travel and driving on an expired registration.

This report is based on information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Booking photo of Demetrice Denegal, 35, Iron County Jail, Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 24, 2020 | Photo courtesy of Iron County Sheriff's Office, St. George News / Cedar City News

Scene of a single-vehicle crash and fire on Old Highway 91 north of Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 23, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Scene of a single-vehicle crash and fire on Old Highway 91 north of Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 23, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Scene of a single-vehicle crash and fire on Old Highway 91 north of Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 23, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Scene of a single-vehicle crash and fire on Old Highway 91 north of Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 23, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Scene of a single-vehicle crash and fire on Old Highway 91 north of Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 23, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Scene of a single-vehicle crash and fire on Old Highway 91 north of Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 23, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Scene of a single-vehicle crash and fire on Old Highway 91 north of Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 23, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Scene of a single-vehicle crash and fire on Old Highway 91 north of Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 23, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Scene of a single-vehicle crash and fire on Old Highway 91 north of Cedar City, Utah, Nov. 23, 2020 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

CEDAR CITY — Police have arrested two men allegedly involved in a several vehicle burglaries in Cedar City over the past week.

Alex Foreman, 26, and Logan Dover, 22, were arrested Tuesday and taken to Iron County Jail. Each man was charged with three counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, a third-degree felony, and 10 counts of vehicle burglary, a class A misdemeanor. Both men were booked and have since been released.

Police allege the two men had attempted to make a purchase at a local business using one or more credit cards that had been stolen during a string of recent thefts that were reported by Cedar City News as taking place between Thursday and Sunday. 

Security video footage was used to help identify the suspects, Cedar City Police Sgt. Clint Pollock told Cedar City News; however, at this point Pollock could not confirm how many of the incidents involved Foreman and Dover.

As previously reported in Cedar City News, Foreman is still facing charges following an arrest in July for allegedly fleeing the scene of a single-vehicle crash on state Route 56. He subsequently pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor DUI and three other charges in connection with that case, which is still pending in Iron County Justice Court.

This report is based on information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A St. George man was charged Monday with felony drug distribution following a previous traffic stop in Washington City when police reportedly found illegal substances during a vehicle search.

The incident began Friday afternoon when a Washington City patrol officer stopped a vehicle on Red Cliffs Drive after a records check revealed the registered owner had a driver’s license that was suspended out of California, according to charging documents filed with the courts.

During the stop, the driver told police he had recently been cited for the same violation and asked if the passenger sitting next to him could drive the car for him. The officer responded by saying that as long as the passenger had a valid license, he could drive the car, which would prevent it from being impounded.

When the officer ran the passenger’s driver’s license, belonging to 31-year-old Brandon Clove, to verify if it was valid, it came back as suspended and also revealed that Clove had four active warrants for his arrest.

Since neither had a valid driver’s license, both men were asked to exit the vehicle, the report states, and additional units were called to assist while a search of the vehicle ensued.

During the search, officers found an unlabeled prescription bottle containing 90 amphetamine-dextroamphetamine pills, a Schedule II narcotic, inside a grocery bag located on the passenger’s side floorboard, where Clove was sitting minutes before.

Inside the passenger’s side door, officers found a rectangular pill that turned out to be a Xanax bar, and inside the trunk they found a green bag with multiple pockets that police learned later reportedly belonged to Clove.

Inside of the bag, officers found a green leafy substance consistent with marijuana, a clear plastic box containing THC wax, a scale and a number of Ziploc baggies.

A “large amount” of a white crystalized substance suspected to be methamphetamine was also found inside a silver box and later estimated to weigh more than half a pound. Police also found a second large plastic bag containing 20 Xanax bars, as well as a number of blow torches and other drug paraphernalia.

According to the report, the driver told police that he was unaware that anything was inside the car except the prescription that he picked up to deliver to a friend. The driver was later issued a warning citation for driving on a suspended license.

Meanwhile, the report said Clove told officers that he picked up the methamphetamine from Las Vegas earlier that day for $4,000 and was planning on selling it locally for $4,800. He also reportedly told officers the Xanax bars, THC and marijuana recovered from the vehicle were for personal use only.

When asked about the prescription bottle found inside the grocery bag sitting on the floorboard, the suspect provided a similar account to Clove’s, saying he had picked up the prescription from his friend’s sister in a store parking lot in St. George and planned to deliver it to his friend later that day, according to the report.

With Clove claiming ownership of all of the items recovered from the vehicle by police, the driver was issued a warning citation for driving on a suspended license and was free to leave.

Clove was transported to the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked into jail on the warrants and felony drug offenses.

Clove was charged Monday with two second-degree felony counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one third-degree felony count of the same charge. He also faces misdemeanor possession of marijuana and paraphernalia charges and remains in custody on $17,160 bail.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — An Ivins woman with an extensive criminal background is back in jail after she was allegedly caught erasing incriminating texts by Adult Probation and Parole agents during a home compliance check on another parolee.

Kassandra Dittmer, 32, was arrested by Adult Probation and Parole agents conducting a home compliance visit involving a man who was on parole for unrelated cases.

During the visit, agents found Dittmer, who was on probation at the time, also inside of the home. According to charging documents filed with the court, while one of the agents was inspecting Dittmer’s cellphone, which was conducted as part of her probation, he reportedly found texts relating to suspected drug distribution and took photos of the message threads.

However, he was interrupted by needing to assist “the immediate threat” posed by a second suspect who was being arrested at the time and he placed the cellphone on the ground. When the agent returned to pick up the phone, the report states, it was no longer there, which is when he noticed that Dittmer had grabbed the phone in his absence.

The agent took the phone, and when he returned to the messaging application he had just reviewed minutes before, the chronological order of the message thread led him to believe that the texts he previously photographed had been deleted.

The agent placed Dittmer in handcuffs, and when questioned about the missing messages, she allegedly told the agent she was “freaked out.” While being transported to jail, the agent wrote, Dittmer allegedly admitted to erasing the messages but said her actions did not constitute a probation violation since the agent had taken photos beforehand, telling him that “she did nothing wrong.”

She was later charged with third-degree felony obstruction of justice.

Dittmer was also booked on three no-bail warrants issued out of 5th District Court, which illuminates the fact that this is not her first brush with the law.

Court records also reveal that Dittmer has an extensive criminal history involving more than 40 felony and misdemeanor cases and convictions dating back to 2005.

One of the no-bail warrants involved an arrest that took place at the police station in Santa Clara in September of last year after the Dittmer showed up to speak with police officers about a previous unrelated incident and obtain a copy of a report.

The suspect, however, was completely unaware that police had just obtained a search warrant for her home and her person following a months-long investigation.

“Out of the blue, she walked into the police station,” Santa Clara-Ivins Police Sgt. Jaron Studley told St. George News during a previous interview.

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

Dittmer was transferred to Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane for the initial drug and paraphernalia offenses, and a number of other charges were added following the search of her home. Studley said that neighbors and bystanders cheered when officers arrived at the home later that same day to serve the search warrant and that the number of drug-related calls to dispatch dropped significantly shortly after Dittmer’s arrest.

During a sentencing hearing in July, she pleaded guilty to a felony drug distribution charge while nine other charges were dismissed. She was sentenced to serve 87 days in jail, time she had already served, and she was placed on 36-months of probation.

On Aug. 27, agents were contacted by Santa Clara-Ivins Police officers reporting that Dittmer had been arrested when the house she was living in was raided by the Washington County Drug Task Force, and agents allegedly found heroin in her bedroom.

She was released Oct. 1 after posting a $2,500 bond. That case is still pending with the courts.

Following Friday’s arrest, Dittmer remains in custody without bail.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A St. George woman was arrested for allegedly stealing a number of items from a grocery store in St. George, telling officers she was hiding the items in her purse not to steal them, but to keep the purchase a secret from her friend until Christmas.

On Sunday evening, officers were dispatched to Smith’s Food and Drug on Mall Drive on a report of a retail theft taking place inside of the store shortly after 8 p.m. Officers arrived and spoke to one of the managers who pointed to two women who were still inside of the store and told police both had been shoplifting, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest. 

Officers also learned that one of the women, later identified as 31-year-old Saryssa Breann Sagendorf, had reportedly made several trips to the store and had “stolen items every time she came in,” the officer recounted in the report. 

The manager went on to tell officers that with each trip, the suspect was seen entering the store carrying a “flat purse” and was then seen placing items inside of the purse as she walked through the store. 

The suspect was at self-checkout when she was confronted by officers, who advised the suspect she was seen placing merchandise in her purse by store employees, items she failed to pay for. 

Sagendorf told the officers she did have items inside of her purse, but instead of stealing the merchandise, she stated she was hiding them from the person she was shopping with because they were Christmas presents and she did not want the woman to see them. 

When the officer asked the suspect to remove the items that she failed to pay for, Sagendorf pulled out two pairs of slippers and a ceramic cup. During a later search of the bag, officers also found three cans of food. 

The officer advised the suspect that even if she “intended” to purchase the items, she was still not allowed to conceal them in her purse. 

When asked, the suspect told officers she had no identification on her but provided them with a different name and date of birth, which could not be confirmed through a records check. After multiple attempts with no success, officers asked the suspect a number of times to identify herself or provide them with an ID card, and she responded by saying “she could not remember where her identification was,” the report states. 

A store employee was able to identify the suspect as Sara Sagendorf a short time later, and officers were able to obtain the suspect’s full name and correct date of birth through a background check, which also revealed three active warrants for the woman’s arrest, one of which involved a case filed in February after police received a report of a retail theft at Walmart on Pioneer Road in St. George.

In that case, store employees told responding officers that a woman was seen concealing smaller items taken off of the store shelves inside larger items, and they also witnessed the suspect switching price tags, explaining that the suspect replaced the price tag of a full-price item with one taken from one that was discounted. 

The store employee also showed officers a case of energy drinks with a $1 price tag that was placed over the barcode, along with other items that had similar discounted stickers affixed to them. Surveillance footage also showed the suspect scanning the discounted stickers on the computer screen in the self-checkout line. 

When officers spoke to the suspect, who was in the store’s loss prevention office when they arrived, she identified herself as Stephanie Soto and provided a different date of birth. When the name was run through emergency dispatch, they could not locate anyone with that name in the system. The suspect then gave officers a second name, which also came back as a nonfound. And when officers reminded the suspect that giving false information was a crime, the suspect told police she was newly married and that her maiden name was Sagendorf. 

Officers also learned that the value of the items totaled more than $185, according to the report, and the suspect was taken into custody and transported to jail facing misdemeanor theft. Once the case was filed by the Washington County Attorney’s Office, according to court records, the offense was upgraded to a third-degree felony, due to the suspect’s criminal history that included multiple cases and convictions for similar crimes. 

Another warrant also issued in November involved the theft of more than $3,800 in jewelry that was stolen from a residence in Hurricane in 2017. In that case, the suspect told officers she was given the jewelry to sell and denied taking anything from the residence. 

Months later, the suspect entered the drug court program, but court records reveal that after a series of hearings and multiple warrants, including the warrant she was arrested on Sunday, were issued in the case that is still open in the courts. 

In the recent case, the suspect remains in custody on $5,400 bail. No further details were available on the second suspect referred to in the incident at the grocery store and Sagendorf was the only individual arrested following the incident. 

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A short pursuit on northbound Interstate 15 ended quickly Tuesday night after spike strips deployed just north of the Hurricane Exit hit their mark, shredding the fleeing suspect’s tires and disabling the vehicle that was reported as stolen less than an hour before, police said.

Shortly before 10:30 p.m., Washington County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a stolen vehicle on northbound Interstate 15 near Exit 4 involving a Hyundai Sonata with Georgia plates. Information that was provided by the car’s owner, who had a tracking device on the car that was tied into their cell phone, was used to update emergency dispatch to the vehicle’s location. 

The deputy spotted the vehicle that appeared to be slowing down and speeding with its emergency flashers activated as it continued north on I-15. Once the deputy confirmed it was the vehicle reportedly stolen through emergency dispatch, he started following the car with his lights and sirens activated as the pursuit reached speeds of 100 mph, according to charging documents filed with the court. 

The Hyundai hit the spikes deployed seconds before at Exit 16, which shredded both driver’s side tires as the car continued for another mile before the driver pulled over and stopped. Deputies approached the car with guns drawn and ordered the driver out before he was taken into custody. 

The driver, later identified as 19-year-old Trevin Forsgren of Layton, was arrested for possession of a stolen car and fleeing from police. When the car was searched prior to transport, deputies reportedly recovered syringes, prescription pills, a marijuana pipe and other paraphernalia.  

The suspect told deputies that “he had been car hopping all night in the Ogden suburb of Roy looking for things to steal,” the deputy noted in the report, when he came across the unoccupied Hyundai parked next to Roy High School with the engine running. The suspect jumped in the car and headed south. 

At some point, the report states, the Hyundai was in Nevada and was heading north on I-15 when Nevada Highway Patrol troopers attempted to stop the vehicle, which was unsuccessful and the car continued into Utah. When deputies in Washington County asked the suspect why he didn’t stop during the pursuit in Nevada, Forsgren’s response was “he was on probation in Ogden and was in the stolen car and was not going to stop,” the report states.

The suspect was transported and booked into Purgatory Correctional Facility on possession of a stolen vehicle, evading and misdemeanor drug offenses. He is being held on $10,000 bail, along with a probation hold that was added Thursday.  

According to court records, this was not the first time Forsgren is suspected of fleeing from the police in a stolen vehicle.

In April, the suspect was involved in another pursuit in Ogden after officers observed a vehicle heading down the road at night without its headlights on, and then realized it was the same pickup that was reported stolen from a hotel parking lot in downtown Ogden earlier that same day. When officers came up behind the pickup with their lights flashing, the pickup sped off and was not pursued.

The pickup was located abandoned in a cul-de-sac the following day by police. While canvassing the neighborhood, officers learned that a white man in his 20s wearing a red hoodie .was seen near the truck. Shortly after, a tow truck was dispatched to impound the vehicle. 

The tow truck driver arrived on scène and told an Ogden City Police officer that he saw a young man in a red hoodie in the area acting suspicious, and then the suspect sprinted off as soon as they saw the patrol cars at the scene. 

Officers began searching for the suspect, later identified as Forsgren, who was located a short while later wearing a red hoodie and appeared to be out of breath and panting. The officer also noted that when asked, the suspect told police he was running because he was late getting home and he needed to get there quickly. 

According to the report, technicians processing the scene where the truck was discovered found several fingerprints that were positively identified as belonging to the suspect who was taken into custody and questioned by police.  

Forsgren allegedly admitted to an officer that he was in the vehicle and ran from officers, but denied stealing the pickup, saying that “Kameron” gave it to him, and only later did he admit knowing it was stolen.  He was booked into jail and charged with second-degree felony theft by receiving, which was later amended to a third-degree felony that he pleaded guilty to in September. He spent 70 days in jail and during sentencing, he was credited for time served, fined and placed on 36 months probation. 

The recent arrest violated his probation, thus the hold was placed on him following Tuesday’s arrest in Washington County. The suspect remains in custody as of the writing of this report.

This report is based on information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

CEDAR CITY — A driver pulled over for speeding on Interstate 15 early Sunday was subsequently arrested and booked into jail after police reportedly found 10 pounds of methamphetamine and 10,000 fentanyl pills inside the vehicle.

Rafael Escobar, 25, was booked into Iron County Jail following the traffic stop, which occurred about 12:30 a.m. Sunday.

A Utah Highway Patrol trooper used his radar to clock the vehicle at 81 mph in a 75 mph zone on northbound I-15 in Cedar City, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in support of Escobar’s arrest. 

After the trooper began to follow the vehicle, he also observed it following another vehicle too closely, at which point he initiated a traffic stop at approximately mile marker 60.

“While I was working on a citation, I began to be suspicious that the occupants were involved in criminal activity,” the trooper wrote in the probable cause statement.

Besides the driver, who was identified as Escobar, the other occupant of the vehicle was a 21-year-old female passenger, the statement said.

Iron County Sheriff’s Cpl. Shawn Peterson and his K-9 partner Vojak were then called in to assist. Vojak alerted to an odor of narcotics coming from the vehicle, the statement said.

During the subsequent search of the vehicle, investigators reportedly found approximately 10 pounds of methamphetamine and nearly 3 pounds of fentanyl pills, packaged in two cardboard boxes.

The total street value of those drugs is estimated to be at least $700,000, according to investigators.

“We also located a package of THC edibles, a THC infused drink, and a joint in the vehicle,” the trooper wrote, adding that the driver admitted he did not have a medical marijuana card.

Escobar, who remains in custody at Iron County Jail, faces two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, a second-degree felony, in addition to four misdemeanor counts of possession of drugs or paraphernalia and one misdemeanor count of driving on a suspended or revoked license. He also faces driving infractions related to speeding and following too closely.

Escobar made his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon via videoconference before 5th District Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen. His next scheduled appearance is a detention hearing Dec. 15.

This report is based on information provided by law enforcement and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

ST. GEORGE — A Draper City man with a long history of thefts in northern Utah now faces second-degree felony theft in Washington County after he was arrested by Sheriff’s Office deputies investigating a report of a stolen vehicle out of Leeds.

Steffan Nunley, 28, of Draper, was arrested Dec. 4 following a disorderly call at a residence on East Vista Avenue in Leeds involving Nunley. He was charged with one second-degree felony count of receiving-transferring a stolen vehicle, as well as three misdemeanor theft charges.

According to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, the call set in motion an investigation into the theft of a Jeep from the Cottonwood Heights area in October – a Jeep that had been discovered by deputies abandoned in Leeds. Initial information led detectives to believe the theft may have been part of an insurance scam.

Through the course of the investigation, officers received information indicating that Nunley had allegedly stolen the Jeep and removed the tires, which he planned at some point to put on his own vehicle, before taking the Jeep to a remote area in Leeds and abandoning it. The suspect also left the tires there, authorities allege, with the intent of retrieving them.

Unbeknownst to the suspect, the Jeep had been spotted days earlier by a deputy after a broadcast went out advising officers to be on the lookout for the stolen red Jeep. A deputy in the area spotted the vehicle surrounded by sage brush and rocks near Babylon Road. The hood was up and the back rear door was open and missing the handle to roll up the window, the statement said, with the officer also noting the removed tires and rotors.

The inside of the vehicle appeared to be cleared of all belongings, papers and other items, leaving “not even trash behind,” and the plates on the vehicle turned out to be stolen out of Washington City.

Detectives processed the scene for evidence but were unable to find any latent fingerprints, only evidence of the vehicle being wiped down.

With the information authorities received following the disorderly call, they were led to believe there was a “high probability that Steffan Nunley was in physical control of the vehicle (Jeep) and had knowledge it was stolen,” the officer noted in the report.

On Friday, deputies responded to Nunley’s residence in Leeds with a search warrant for the white Toyota Tundra he was using, and inside they found items allegedly linking Nunley to the crime, including store receipts showing the suspect was in the area at the time it was stolen, as well as for cleaning supplies that deputies believe were used to clean the Jeep and remove any evidence that could trace the vehicle back to him.

Nunley was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility, and following an initial appearance Wednesday in 5th District Court, he remains in custody on $20,010 bail. He is scheduled to appear for a review hearing Dec. 23.

Besides the current charges, a recent case is still pending in Draper City involving charges that were filed in January related to a business burglary reported in the Salt Lake City area in August 2019.

In that case, two suspects entered the automotive business by removing one of the door panels. Surveillance footage recovered by police showed both suspects enter riding a “pay-to-ride scooter” after one of the men kicked through the center bay door.

Once inside, the suspects took a toolbox, a bag of car wash tokens valued at $400, multiple scanners, tools and drills before the pair fled the shop.

Officers identified one of the suspects as Nunley and noted in the charging documents that the agency has had numerous run-ins with the suspect, saying he is a “known burglar and thief.”

The report also stated that Nunley was a suspect in the theft of a Jeep Grand Cherokee during that same time period, and just hours after the business burglary the suspect was seen pulling into work driving the Grand Cherokee by a witness who spoke with police. A registration check later revealed that Nunley had the Jeep registered in his name within hours of the burglary at the mechanics shop.

Officers obtained a warrant for a GPS tracking device to be place on the Grand Cherokee, which paid off a few days later when they were able to track the suspect as he returned to the same mechanic’s shop after it had closed for the night and arrested the suspect.

During a search of the Grand Cherokee, officers recovered a scooter that matched the one shown in the surveillance footage from the burglary days before. That case is still pending with the courts.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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