St. George man arrested after allegedly distributing drugs to juveniles as young as 12

ST. GEORGE, Utah— A man is in custody for multiple felony charges, after an incident involving five juveniles in his car with multiple illegal drugs according to court documents.

The suspect had other active warrants including a $14,000 car theft from a local auto business.  The man was identified as 21-year-old Jessie Mario Angel Clark.

A police officer on patrol noticed a vehicle at a gas pump on near the intersection of Bluff and Main Street that was registered to a person with an outstanding warrant. Police approached the vehicle and found four juveniles inside with one juvenile approaching the car between the ages of 12-15. The officer noted the strong smell of marijuana and had the juveniles exit the vehicle when the officer noticed drug paraphernalia including a glass pipe and a rubber bong along with marijuana in the car back seat.

The officer had the juveniles call their parents to pick them up at which point Clark, the owner of the vehicle arrived on scene. Clark spoke with police and admitted the juveniles may have taken some marijuana from his home and that he had smoked marijuana with one of the juveniles before.

The officer conducted a search of Clark’s person and found an e-cigarette with THC concentrate, and a hydrocodone pill. During a search of the vehicle additional drug paraphernalia was found including items in four of the five juveniles’ bags.

Clark admitted to having marijuana without a medical marijuana license and that he had left drugs in the car where kids could “access it.” Clark, who was known by police to carry a firearm, did not have one on his person but told police he had a shotgun and a hand gun at home. Because of his involvement with illegal drugs, Clark would be considered a restricted person for firearms.

When parents of the juveniles arrived, interviews were conducted with the juveniles with the adults present, and they told police Clark “gave them marijuana and paraphernalia to take home.” One of the female juveniles said Clark had given her the hydrocodone found in her bag.

After the incident, officers executed a search warrant of Clark’s house where they found a shot gun in Clark’s closet and multiple un-opened THC cartridges along with a notebook tracking his purchases of drugs and profits. The nature of what was recorded in the notebook led officers to believe Clark was dealing with THC cartridges, e-cigarettes, and edibles from Mesquite, Nevada which he would then bring back to Utah to sell for a profit.

Clark was transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility facing five first-degree felony counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance in a drug-free zone, five third-degree felony counts of causing or permitting a child to be exposed to a controlled substance, and a third-degree felony charge of possession of a firearm by a restricted person.