Crime-Spree Has GRUESOME End Following Southern Utah Chase

A chain of crimes that started in Spanish Fork ended in Mesquite on September 30 with the reported suspected taking his own life at the end of the chase.

Two press releases have been given to the public. One from the St. George Police Department, the other from the Mesquite Police Department.

Both offer similar information, but also give different perspectives on the crimes.

The MPD press release said, “In the late afternoon of Saturday, September 30^th, one man’s multi-state crime spree came to an end in Mesquite. The suspect, a convicted ex-felon, had committed several serious and violent crimes in Mesquite, Las Vegas, and St. George throughout the week, including purse-snatching, firing a gun into a vehicle, vehicle theft, and armed robbery.”

While the man’s identity has not been released to the public as of yet, the suspect’s list of charges would have been rather large if he were to be apprehended. Which the SGPD was attempting to do on September 30, chasing the suspect across St. George into the Mesquite area.

The SGPD press release said, “An alert citizen noticed a suspicious vehicle near Nelson Circle & Bloomington Drive. The male driver exited the vehicle and attempted to break into a nearby residence when he was confronted by the homeowner. The suspect threatened the homeowner with a weapon before leaving in a vehicle that had been stolen out of Spanish Fork, Utah. The driver failed to stop and a pursuit ensued. Washington County Deputies joined in the pursuit which crossed into Arizona and then Nevada.”

As the suspect crossed into Nevada, the SGPD requested assistance from the MPD to catch the suspect who was still armed. The officers deployed various spike traps to try and stop the suspect in his tracks.

The MPD press release said, “As the suspect crossed into Nevada, he swerved his vehicle at officers who were prepared to deploy spike strips. MPD officers later successfully deployed spike strips on the suspect vehicle at mile marker 121.”

Once the suspect was caught in the trap, he fled to a nearby casino parking lot where he stole another vehicle to continue his escape. The vehicle he chose was a white SUV where he threatened an elderly couple at gunpoint to steal the vehicle. The suspect then continued to evade authorities until the SUV got stuck near a golf course, where he continued to run on foot.

The MPD press release said, “With assistance from an air support unit from Utah, officers were advised of the suspect’s location as he attempted to hide in the thick brush. The air unit advised officers that the suspect was still in possession of a handgun; as officers positioned themselves around the suspect, they heard a gunshot. The male was found deceased of an apparent self-inflicted single gunshot wound.”

If authorities arrested the man, he would have faced a list of charges including felony evading, felony grand larceny of a vehicle, felony robbery with a deadly weapon, felony assault with a deadly weapon, felony assault on an officer, and multiple other felony charges from Las Vegas and St. George.