CEDAR CITY – A man accused of assault and auto theft in Cedar City was stopped and arrested by the Utah Highway Patrol on Thursday.
In a statement from the Cedar City Police, Sgt. Jimmy Roden said that around 4:30 p.m., Thursday, the CCPD responded to the 1000 South block of Main Street to a reported assault. The officer contacted an adult male who claimed he was assault by 45-year-old John Luke Sanchez III, of Pueblo, Colo.
The victim said he met and befriended Sanchez at a local bar and agreed to give him a ride to an address near 1000 South Main. It was at this time that Sanchez allegedly assaulted the victim, took his keys and stole the car. After the assault, the victim was then able to walk to a nearby business and contact police.
The CCPD alerted neighboring law agencies and provided them with a description of the suspect and the car. The car was located and stopped by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper near Leeds.
Sanchez was taken into custody and later booked into the Iron County Correctional Facility on charges of first-degree aggravated robbery, second-degree theft of a car, and misdemeanor assault. He was also found to have an arrest warrant related to the possession of a stolen vehicle.
The victim was taken to a local hospital where he received treatment for minor injuries resulting from the assault.
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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