St. George K-9 unit stops out of state crime spree suspects
Feb 21, 2023, 4:43 PM
St. George Police's K-9 Emma. (St. George Police Department)
(St. George Police Department)
ST. GEORGE, Utah — The St. George Police Department said one of their K-9 units arrested four people planning to rob banks across Utah.
On Feb. 1 at approximately 8:50 p.m., St. George PD’s Officer Ott stopped a California-licensed car after he noticed three occupants acting “suspiciously” in front of the Dicks Sporting Goods on 15 South River Road.
According to the police department’s Facebook post, Ott ran k9 Emma by the vehicle and she alerted him of possible narcotics in the car.
“During a search of the vehicle, he located ten plus different fake driver’s licenses for the driver, later positively identifying the driver,” reads the post. “Each driver’s license was out of a different state.”
Ott also found a printer with blank cards in the car that are used to create fake IDs.
During the investigation, the car driver “described a sophisticated scheme where a group he was associated with would use forged identity documents to empty the bank accounts of unwitting victims,” according to the Facebook post.
The car driver told police they had just arrived in St. George and planned to target banks in the area, then head to northern Utah to continue their scheme.
“The male (and his three passengers were) ultimately booked on 26 charges (each), many of which were 2nd-degree felonies,” reads the post.
Authorities are currently trying to identify and arrest other possible members of this group.
