Convicted California felon threatens passengers on Greyhound bus in St. George with a knife

A California man is behind bars after St. George police say he threatened workers and passengers on a Greyhound bus with a knife.

The incident took place Tuesday afternoon at the Greyhound bus stop in St. George at 1572 S. Convention Center Dr.

Police arrested 50 year old Lorenzo Pleydle of Chino, California on suspicion of aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, trespassing, theft of services, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He faces a first-degree felony, two third-degree felonies, and three class-B misdemeanors.

St. George Police Officer Tiffany Atkin told ABC4 News the suspect was allegedly trying to get on the bus without a ticket, and when he wasn’t allowed on, he brandished a knife and refused to get off.

“He forced his way on, had a knife out, and was standing in the stairwell of the bus.

As you can imagine, those stairwells are small, there’s only one way in and one way out,” Atkin said. “Our officers responded code, which means we’re going lights and sirens.”

When two officers arrived on the scene, with several others on the way, police said frightened passengers pointed out the suspect, who was sitting on the bus.

Authorities quickly detained him and placed him in handcuffs, according to Akin.

Police said he had hidden a 3 inch fixed blade knife in the front right seat adjacent to another passenger.

Luckily, no one was injured.

Officers learned through a driver’s license check that Pleydle is a convicted felon in California, so he was not allowed to be in possession of any weapons.

This incident comes just a week after an unidentified man died after he was found unresponsive on the Greyhound bus in St. George.

Atkin confirmed he died of natural causes.